Class 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 







SERMONS 



ON 



IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, f 



BY THE LATE 



AN ITINERANT MINISTER OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH IN AMERICA. 



TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, 

A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR'S LIFE, 



HE BEING DEAD, YET SPEAKETH." 

HE WAS A BURNING AND A SHINING LIGHT. 



GRANVILLE COUNTY, JV. C. 



PUBLISHED BY THE REV. WILLIS HARRIS. 

ABRAHAM PAUL, PRINTER, CORNER OF WATER-STREET AND 
BURLING-SL1P, NEW-YORK. 



.H2.84S4 

_ 1 8 R 1 



In Exobang® 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 031462 

Southern District of JVew-Yoi% ss. 
BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twenty-ninth day of December, in the forty- 
fifth year of the Independence of the United States of America, the Rev. Willis 
Harris, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as 
Proprietor, in the words following, to wit : 

44 Sermons on Important Subjects. By the late Rev. Fletcher Harris, an Itinerant 
Minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. To which is prefixed, a 
Memoir of the Author's Life." 

" He being dead, yet speaketh.' 5 

" He was a burning and a shining light." 

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled "an Act for 
the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books 
to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the lime therein mentioned." 
And also to an Act, entitled "an Act, supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for 
the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books 
to the authors and proprietor* of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, 
and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching his- 
iarical and other prints." 

G. L THOMPSON, 
Clerk of the Southern District of Neio-York, 



7 * H JJ 



PREFACE. 

HAD the publisher been the author of the fol- 
lowing work, he would not have troubled the pub- 
lic with any apology for it, nor would he have 
felt himself justifiable in asking the indulgence 
of his readers ; whose attention and patronage 
he could only have expected on the ground of its 
own intrinsic merit. 

The following discourses were written, some 
before and some after they were delivered : and 
it is probable without any expectation, on the part 
of the author, that they would ever be printed. 
And certainly it never was intended to publish 
them in their present form. Under such cir- 
cumstances the publisher asks the forbearance 
of the critic, and hopes the main design of the 
author will be kept in view; which was to correct 
the morals of the profligate and unthinking and 
comfort and establish the followers of Christ. 

Had the author lived and published for himself, 
he would, no doubt, have paid more particular at- 
tention to the following sermons : they might 
have been differently arranged : and considerable 



t 



iy 



PREFACE. 



additions would possibly have been made to some. 
Such as were written previous to their delivery, 
may rather be viewed as an outline, imperfectly 
filled up, and penned for the purpose of assisting 
the mind in the further investigation of the 
subject then under consideration: whilst those 
written after their delivery were committed to 
paper, it is likely, rather for the purpose of retain- 
ing ideas that presented themselves to the mind 
of the author when he was preaching on a subject 
previously selected. The perusal of these ser- 
mons seems fully to justify this assumption ; and 
while it is to be regretted, that one so well quali- 
fied as the author was for promoting the instruc- 
tion and improvement of his fellow creatures, 
should not have written for the press, it would 
have been improper not to have gratified his nu- 
merous Mends by the present publication. 

In reviewing the work, the publisher has care- 
fully credited all the quotations which he knew 
to be such ; but as they had not been particularly 
noticed at all times, it was in some cases a matter 
of difficulty and uncertainty. On this account 
the indulgence of the reader is requested, should 
any passages be discovered as quoted from an 
author without being marked by inverted com- 
mas : and it is presumed such indulgence will 
be readily granted when it is considered, that, in 
writing them, the author would not be particular. 



PREFACE. 



V 



as he would consider a short sentence or a few 
words, sufficient to induce a recollection of as 
much as was pertinent to the occasion. 

The publisher, in compliance with the wish of 
many who knew the author, and many more who 
have become subscribers to the work, and with 
a firm belief and earnest desire that it may be 
generally useful, submits it, just as it stands, with 
fervent prayer to the God of all grace, that his 
blessing may accompany the perusal of it to the 
awakening, conversion and salvation of souls. 

WILLIS HARMS. 



Granville County, N. C. 
Jan. 1821. 



MEMOIRS 



OF THE 
— 

Mr. Fletcher Harris was born on the 30th of 
April, in the year of our Lord 1790, in Granville 
County, North-Carolina. His parents, who are still 
living, have been acceptable members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church for near fifty years. As they 
feared the contamination of his morals, which is too 
often the consequence of youthful association in 
public schools, and being in but moderate circum- 
stances, they could only furnish him with an English 
education, and that mostly at home. 

At a very early period of his life he had impres- 
sions of a religious nature, which were never erased 
from his mind during his life ; and though he made 
no profession of religion until he arrived at mature 
age, yet, in justice to his memory we must say, that 
even in his youth his conduct was such, as most 
plainly to manifest his great reverence of it. 

At the age of 20 he was more deeply impressed 
with the necessity of regeneration. He sought it 
with unremitting ardour fpr about eight weeks? 



MEMOIRS OP THE 



when it pleased God to give him the witness of the 
Spirit, at a camp-meeting, in the month of Septem- 
ber, 181]. It was here he felt the Lord gracious, 
and was enabled to shout aloud the wonders of re- 
deeming grace and dying love. He began imme- 
diately to exhort those about him to fly to the arms 
of divine mercy. From this time he began to feel an 
increasing desire for the salvation of lost sinners. So 
great was his concern for his fellow-creatures, that 
he soon forsook his father's house in quest of them, 
and accompanying the circuit preachers in their 
rounds, exhorted and prayed with the people : and 
such was his godly deportment, zeal, and eloquence, 
that most who knew him marked him for extensive 
usefulness in the church of God. 

In the year 1813 he joined the itinerancy, and 
was appointed to labour in the Terrel circuit. 
This appointment required the exercise of self- 
denial, and that resignation which was a prominent 
feature in his. Christian character. He had now to 
exchange the company of his affectionate parents 
and brethren, for the society of persons with whom 
he had no acquaintance ; and the salubrious at- 
mosphere of his native uplands for swamps and 
miry roads, to which he had till now been a stran- 
ger ; and in addition to this, he had also to sustain 
the charge of the circuit, feut whatever were the 
difficulties he had to contend with, or the privations 
he had to endure, the fervour of his zeal excited 
him to unremitting exertion in 'the great work to 
which he had devoted himself. Engaged in the 
awful work of the Christian ministry, and having 



EEV. FLETCHER HARRIS. 



the charge of immortal souls, he was consoled and 
animated with the conviction, that " He who hath 
measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and 
meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended 
the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the 
mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance" — 
that He with whom " the nations are as a drop of a 
bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the 
balance, who taketh up the isles as a very little 
thing," was his Father. He counted the sincere 
followers of Jesus Christ as his brethren and sisters. 
The wretched condition of sinners affected his heart; 
and in his concern to bring them " to the knowledge 
of the truth," " that they might be saved," he almost 
forgot the painful privations connected with his situ- 
ation. 

In his first tour round the circuit, he diligently 
endeavoured to ascertain the real state of the classes. 
Having done this, he strove to remove all their stum- 
bling-blocks, and whatever was an obstacle to the 
influence of religion in the society, or prejudicial to 
its character in the eye of the world. The exercise 
of proper discipline in the church requires much wis- 
dom and fortitude ; and in proportion to the disor- 
dered state in which a minister may find that part of 
the vineyard he is called to labour in, will be his 
difficulty : generally those who are indifferent of our 
rules, are so from a secret repugnance to them — the 
lukewarm and the worldly-minded respect religion 
as far as it may suit their convenience ; and it is not 
always the case that men have influence in religious 
society in consequence of their more exalted piety. 



10 



MEMOIRS OF THE 



The way of the man of God however lies plain before 
him : let him scrupulously and vigilantly regard the 
honour of God, in requiring consistency of character 
with profession in his followers, and he shall find hi® 
labour not in vain in the Lord. Mr. Harris was 
abundantly compensated for his labours in this re- 
spect ; his congregations now began to increase, and 
many entertained very different notions of religion 
to what they had done before ; several obtained 
mercy, and were added to the church. He found 
that promise of the Lord verified, " Lo, I am with 
you." 

The labours of this year being ended, he left his 
friends deeply affected at their having to part with 
him. He paid his parents and former acquaintances 
a short visit, and preached once or twice among 
them. They heard with profit and astonishment^ 
and perceived that he was indeed a minister that 
needed not to be ashamed. 

In 1814 he was appointed to Neuse circuit. Here 
he had to renew his labours with his bodily health 
and strength much impaired ; but none of these 
things moved him from his object of publishing the 
glad tidings of salvation to lost sinners. He labour- 
ed in his new appointment with increasing success 
till the fall of the year, when he was attacked with 
a violent bilious complaint which brought him very 
near the borders of the grave. In his affliction he 
was favoured with the consolations of the Holy 
Spirit, and was enabled to submit to the divine 
will with perfect resignation. After his recovery he 



REV. FLETCHER HARRIS. 



il 



finished the labours of the year, and was made a 
blessing to many. 

At the conference held in 1815 he was ordained 
deacon, and appointed to Bedford circuit. He was 
now much debilitated, and was not able to perform 
half (he labours of the circuit : he was, notwithstand- 
ing, cheerful, and at intervals enabled to preach to 
crowded assemblies, some of whom listened to his 
message with rapture, and all with astonishment. 

In the year 1816 he was stationed in Richmond 
city. He entered on this station with many painful 
apprehensions. There were not a few in this place 
whose minds were prejudiced against the Metho- 
dists, on account of some among them who did not 
adorn the Gospel by. ^eir conversation. This was 
an evil which had resulted from neglect of disci- 
pline ; and other circumstances grew out of it which 
threatened the destruction of some of the classes: 
but it was well* for Mr. Harris and his flock that he 
knew in " whom he had believed," and that He 
would " guide him by his counsel." In this trying 
situation he enjoined those who felt concern for 
the prosperity of Zion, to aid him by their prayers 
to the great Head of the church, that He would turn 
their captivity and wipe away their reproach. It 
was not long before love and harmony was again, 
restored in the society ; and the causes of stumbling 
being removed out of the way, the prejudices of the 
citizens began to yield, and in a short time the 
churches could not contain the number who attend- 
ed on his ministry. The power of God attended 
the word, and many found that Jesus Christ hath 



12 



MEMOIRS OP THE 



power, on earth, to forgive sins. In the course of 
this summer he attended a camp-meeting about fifty 
miles above Richmond, when, preaching to the peo- 
ple, and speaking with earnestness on the glories of 
heaven, he said, "J believe I shall be there in the 
space of two years." This prediction, if we may 
call it such, we have reason to believe was accom- 
plished within that time. 

On the 5th January, 1817, he took leave of the 
society at Richmond. This was a most affecting 
time, and will not be forgotten by his friends. He 
preached twice in the day, and his farewell sermon 
at night, from Revelation vii. 1 4. " These are they 
that have come out of great tribulation, and have 
washed their robes and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb." He laboured until he was 
almost exhausted, and addressing himself to the 
people as if confident they should see his face no 
more, he said, " I have not shunned to declare to you 
the whole counsel of God. And now I am about to 
leave you, not knowing where I am to go : but I am 
resigned to the will of my heavenly Father. 

" Must I be carried to the skies 
On flowery beds of ease, 
While others fought to win the prize. 
And sail'd through bloody seas ?" 

No, glory to God ! 

" I'll bear the cross, endure the pain, 
Supported by thy word." 

He spoke as if bidding them a final farewell as to 
this life, which really was the case. " Bear with me, 



REV. FLETCHER HARRIS. 

my brethren," said he, " my soul is happy ! glory ! 
honour ! praise ! and power !" Then falling upon his 
knees, he made an awful appeal to the hearts and 
consciences of the people, and after praying fer- 
vently with them, committed them to God and the 
word of his grace. The people wept aloud : and 
some who made no profession of religion said they 
never witnessed so solemn a scene. Mr. Harris told 
a friend afterward, that he had never before felt his 
mind in so awful a frame : for, said he, " I am im- 
pressed with a belief that 1 shall see my friends in 
tfyis place no more till I meet them in eternity; but, 
thank God, I leave a goodly number on their way to 
heaven." 

This year he was ordained elder, and was sta- 
tioned by the conference at Newbern. Here hi» 
labours were very great; for in addition to his faith- 
ful discharge of those ministerial duties he had to at- 
tend to, he preached more than one hundred funeral 
sermons. He now commenced the study of the 
Greek language, and by his diligent application to it 
made very considerable progress. He abridged 
Stewart's Philosophy of the Mind ; extracted the 
most valuable of Blair's Lectures on Rhetoric : and 
in addition to this, wrote about fifty of his Sermons. 
But notwithstanding his great success in the vine- 
yard of his Lord and Master, and his zeal to make 
those who were dead in trespasses and sins acquainted 
with the spiritual and eternal life, which is by faith in 
Christ Jesus, we find his was the language of com- 
plaint. The consideration of the infinite value of 



14 MEMOIRS OF THE 

Immortal souls, the shortness and uncertainty of 
time, and the awful responsibility of the Christian 
ministry, will lead the man wjio is ever so devoted 
to the important duties connected with the over- 
sight of the flock of Christ, to exclaim with the apos- 
tle, " Who is sufficient for these things !" 

Although the faithful minister of the Gospel well 
knows that his sufficiency is of God, yet he is con- 
vinced he will have to give an account for his im- 
provement of the talents he has received. He will 
feel himself under solemn obligation as a Christian, 
and much more as a minister, to add to his faith and 
to his virtue knowledge. Nor will he assume, that 
though he may have been made an instrument to awa- 
ken and convert sinners, without the information or 
learning he is in pursuit of, that therefore the time 
allotted him on earth may be spent without improve- 
ment : but discovering his ignorance of things which 
may be known by the knowledge he acquires ; and 
feeling that the honour of the cause of Christ, and 
the spiritual prosperity of those who attend on his 
ministry may be greatly promoted by his diligence 
in the pursuit and acquisition o.f knowledge, he will 
be careful to redeem every moment of his time, and 
improve it in the best manner he can devise, that he 
may be a scribe well instructed, and thoroughly fur* 
nished, so to exhibit the character and attributes of 
HIM, whose ambassador hejs, as to confound the 
gainsayer, and strengthen, stablish, and settle the 
humble followers of his Lord and Master. Such 
were the sentiments, and such was the practice of 



SERMON I 



The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because, he hath 
anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor ; he hath 
sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance 
to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to 
set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the ac- 
ceptable year of the Lord. Luke iv. 18, 19. 

It is impossible for one who possesses a heart at- 
tuned to the Soft chord of Christian sympathy, not to 

feel deeply interested in reading these words. To 
endure the degraded impotence of despised poverty 
— to agonize in excessive and heart-rending grief— 
to be immured within the mouldy walls of a loath- 
some dungeon — to be deprived of the faculty of 
vision, so as to grope at noon-day — and in addition 
to all this, to have the body maimed and bruised — 
such a tale of woful calamity must touch the heart, 
and overflow the eyes of him who hears it. But 
suppose the poverty of which we were speaking, 
to consist, not in the want of sustenance for the body, 
but in the absence of the bread which endureth to 
everlasting life, without which the soul perisheth for- 
ever ; suppose the heart-breaking grief, of which we 
were speaking, to consist in a painful sense of injus- 
tice done to God, our kind benefactor; suppose the 

4 



26 



Harris's sermons 



imprisonment, of which we were speaking, to be the 
confinement of the immortal soul in the castle of sin, 
and chains of iniquity ; suppose the blindness above 
referred to, to consist in the entire absence of the 
light of God's countenance, which alone fills all hea- 
ven with raptures ; suppose the bruises spoken of in 
the text, to refer to the depraved faculties of a fallen 
soul, by which it is entirely incapacitated either for 
enjoyment or ease. Then you behold a sight which 
might make an angel weep ; a sight which moved the 
compassion of God. Hovering with pensive grief 
over such an abject sufferer, our ears are saluted by 
the heart-reviving voice of a pitying deliverer. The 
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed 
me to preach the Gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to 
heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, 
and recovering vf eight, to the blind, to set at liberty them 
that are bruised ; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, 
This deliverer is Jesus, our Saviour ; and we, and all 
i Adam's race, are the lost sinners whom he came to 
seek and to save. 

These w T ords point out. 

f. Man's natural condition, and 

• II. Christ's gracious commission, 

I. We are to speak of man's natural condition. 

The Holy Spirit, in condescension to our ignorance 
of spiritual subjects, has been pleased to render 
them comprehensible by figurative illustrations taken 



ON IMPORTx\NT SUBJECTS. 



27 



iVom the material world. It is difficult for us to con- 
ceive how sin deforms the soul, and deranges its 
faculties. But we who have the poor always with 
us, can easily conceive of the many privations and 
sufferings which they are forced to endure, and how 
the cloud of cheerless gloom obscures from them the 
sun of prosperity ; while, dispirited and faint, they 
creep into the hut of poverty, and share with their 
weeping babes the cup of unmingled wretchedness. 
By such a scene, the Holy Spirit would have us en- 
ter more fully into a proper understanding of man's 
lapsed condition. Before the fall, man had unob- 
structed intercourse with his Maker, who was the soul 
of his happiness, the life of his delights, and the trea- 
sure of his riches. Into him, as an infinite ocean of 
fulness, all the affections of man flowed, and blended 
their vigorous current. But sin estranged man, and 
alienated his affections from his God. And God* 
whose inflexible truth stands firm as his throne, with- 
drew the kindly light of his countenance ; and this 
being the food of the soul, man was left (the atone- 
ment apart) in a state of wretchedness. Distressed 
and without help, I hear the fugitive rebel cry out, 
''Who will show me any good? Wherewithal shall I 
come before God ? Who will give me perfect peace ? 
Save me from the hell I feel, and the endless horror 
I fear !" 

Moreover, amid the various causes of distress 
which daily occur, it is not strange to see some pining 
away ; no matter whether through slighted love or 
loss of friends. The fragrant spring scatters odours 
in vain around them; and the sun shines but to 



t. 



28 



Harris's sermons 



reveal their wretchedness. Their hollow eyes and 
pale wo-worn cheeks, tell the tale of their soul's hor- 
ror, their hearts know their own bitterness, and are 
rent by despair. By the horror of such a state, we 
are taught the wretchedness of man, widowed of his 
innocence, and rifled of his happiness. He may not 
indeed be fully sensible of his condition : — the stupi- 
fying opiates of sin may have deadened his alarm, 
But, 

— " sure 'tis a piteous sight, to see 

So many maniacs dancing in their chains ; 
With eyes of horror execrate their chains, 
Then shake them in despair, and dance again !" 

Again, we have heard of the shocking deeds per- 
formed in the field of battle; and how, through the 
petulance of kings, whole mountains of the dead 
have been heaped around the hostile camp, whose 
limbs have been torn by devouring dogs and hungry 
vultures; while the more ill-fated captives, cursed 
with protracted life, with their e^es put out, (for such 
was the ancient custom in war) are enclosed in the 
pestilential vaults of dreary dungeons, where, loaded 
and bruised with fetters, they linger out the remain- 
der of their wretched existence. This gloomy pic- 
ture is but a faint representation of the abject con- 
dition of the unrenewed sinner ; who, taken captive 
by the devil at his will, is bound fast in fetters of 
sin and unbelief, and blind to all the beauties of 
religion. 

Think not, dear brethren, that the picture is too 
gloomy. Man, apart from divine grace, is but a 
dunghill blanched with snow. He feels a raging 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



29 



thirst which he can never quench ; he is shut up in a 
pit where there is no water. Pointed by the augur 
in his breast to the all-encircling course of a never 
ending eternity, he has no confidence in the mercy of 
his God. Through life he is torn with legion-lusts 5 
and when he dies unchanged, he feels in his bosom 
all the pressure of gloomy grief, and the flames of 
hell burn in his heart. 

II. But Hark! brethren, Hark! "There is a voice 
of sovereign grace." Jesus Christ comes forth in 
all the love and power of God. Hear his gracious 
words: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because 
he hath anointed me; he hath chosen me as a fit 
victim on which to lay the iniquities of man ; he hath 
anointed me, or set me apart, for this important com- 
mission, even to preach to the puor. 

We do not confine the meaning of the word, poor*, 
to those merely who are destitute of the good things 
of this life ; though even in that sense, it would pecu- 
liarly apply ; for the poor, literally, have the Gospel 
preached to them ; and many who were cut off from 
happiness in other sources, have found peace in God. 
The poor here, as in Revelation iii. 17. may mean 
those who think they are rich, and know not that 
they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and 
blind, and naked. It may also apply to one who is 
duly sensible of his spiritual poverty, as in Matthew 
v. 3. " Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven." 

O tell me, if you can, how the gracious commission 
of Christ disburdens the meek and contrite heart of 



30 



Harris's sermons 



its load when the world is " winked into its own in- 
significancy," and the soul, thirsty for immortal con- 
solation in God, hears Christ say,- — 1 give myself to 
thee as thy all-sufficient Saviour ! Is thy heart broken 
under a sense of thy former sinfulness ? Take cou- 
rage, I am sent to bind up the broken heart. 1 do 
not despise the day of small things — I will not break 
the bruised reed, neither will I quench the smoking 
flax. To this man will I look, even to him who is poor, 
and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 
Art thou thirsty ? Come to me, and drink, without 
money, and without price. Art thou blind ? Anoint 
thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see. Hast 
thou been led captive by the devil, and art thou 
bruised with the chain of sin ? I am come to set at 
liberty them that are bruised. 1 will give thee anew 
heart, and place thee on even ground, and enable 
thee to contend successfully against thy mortal foe* 
To those who feel their spiritual poverty — whose 
hearts are broken through a sense of their sins, — 
who see themselves tied and bound with the chains 
of many evil habits, — -who sit in the darkness of guilt 
and misery, without a friendly hand to lead them into 
the way they should go ; to those the Gospel of the 
grace- of Christ is a pleasing sound, because a pre- 
sent and full salvation is proclaimed by it, and the 
present is said to be the acceptable year of the Lord. 
Here is plainly an allusion to the year of Jubilee, 
when all, both debtor and servant, among the J ews, 
were set free. The Gospel dispensation is the day 
of Jubilee to all who hear it. It is one grand, copious, 
and interesting display of the infinite love of God. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



31 



It is all encouragement ; breathes nothing but love 
and mercy ; is not one exclusive system ; embraces 
the whole human family; has Jesus, the sinner's 
friend, for its mediator ; is ratified by his blood ; and 
is suited, gloriously suited, to all the wants and 
wishes of all the posterity of Adam. The kingdom 
of heaven is now open, and all who will may enter 
in. j\ 

With what dispositions do we hear these gracious 
assurances ? When Christ uttered them, it is said that 
the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were 
fastened on him, and they were astonished at the 
gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. 
Let us be thankful for the Gospel, and obey it ; or it 
will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in 
the day of judgment, than for us. 

To God the only wise, the author of the Gospel, 
and of eternal life, be all honour, and glory, now and 
for ever. Amen. 



SERMON II 



They are not in trouble as other men ; neither are they 
plagued like other men. Psalm Ixxiii. 5. 

There is nothing to which men are more averse 
than trouble and calamity ; and yet there are very 
few so fortunate as to be exempt from them. By 
prudent forethought, some troubles which we endure ? 
might be avoided ; and others, by sound philosophy, 
might be mitigated ; but so many are our real and 
artificial wants ; so many are the avenues through 
which pain and affliction may pass to annoy us, that 
we scarcely need expect to shun disappointment and 
anguish while in this habitation of sorrow. 

In addition to those afflictions which result from 
our connexion with this world, there are others which 
grow more immediately out of our relation to the 
next : these jar the tenderest strings of the soul, and 
wring the bitterest anguish from the mind. Con- 
science, that secret monitor, which God has implanted 
in our breast, suffers not, while it remains unseared, 
any real peace to the violator of God's law: " The 
spirit of a man will sustain his infirmities; but a 
wounded spirit who can bear ?" 

Now that which most effectually guards the mind 
against this disquieting bane of human felicity, is what 
every votary of happiness should seek to obtain : and 
the friends of religion contend, both from Scripture.. 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 33 



experience, and the fitness of things, that they only 
who love God's commandments, have real peace, and 
that in keeping of them there is great reward. But 
our text seems to outrage experience and Scripture ; 
and while the one says, " I had rather be a door- 
keeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the 
tents of wickedness ;" and again, " one day in thy 
courts is better than a thousand;" and while the 
other says, " the way of transgressors is hard and 
"there is no peace to the wicked;" our text declares 
that the wicked are not in trouble as other men, neither are 
they plagued like other men. 

The Psalmist seems to cede to the wicked a suf- 
ficient pretext for their iniquity ; but to do justice to 
his meaning we must remark, that there are two ways 
to heal the anguish of our naturally distempered 
souls. The first is, by learning the nature of our dis- 
ease, and applying to Christ, the physician of souls, 
" whose deep wounds distil the balm which heals our 
envenomed wounds." The other is, by resisting the 
offered grace, repelling the light, and stupifying the 
conscience by the sleep-producing opiates of sin* 
For this, too, gives relief ; but it is a relief, partial, 
transitory and deceptive. Like Joab, it professes 
friendship, but conceals a dagger. It is like Samson's 
sleep ; it softly deprives us of our locks. It is a 
sleep obtained by opium — a loss of feeling — a pre- 
sage of death. Thus we have noticed, just before a 
heavy fall of rain, the wind has be,en unusually still r 
and historians relate, that before an earthquake, the 
air is unusually serene. It is this false peace to 
which the Psalmist alludes ; and though in a fit of 

5 



34 



Harris's sermons 



melancholy petulance, for want of distinguishing 
between this false quiet and a rational peace, he had 
been well nigh ready to charge God foolishly ; yet 
afterward, when in the sanctuary, he saw them to be 
deluded quietists, who stood on slippery rocks, while 
fiery billows rolled below. 

Such, my brethren, is, I fear, the peace, and the 
condition of many among us. To disturb this tran- 
quillity is the design of the following discourse ; a 
design not only justified by scriptural example and 
ministerial fidelity, but required even by love to your 
souls. It is the friendship of one who rushes forward 
and breaks in on your pleasing reveries, when you 
are approaching a precipice; or knocks rudely at 
your door when he sees your house in flames, and 
ready to destroy you in its ruins. The three princi- 
pal sources of self-deception and false quiet, of which 
I shall treat, are 

I. Infidel presumption; 

II. Vain confidence. 

III. Practical indifference. 

I. Some derive their principal peace and security 
from infidel presumption. My brethren, when we read 
in the Scriptures of the condition of the unregenerate, 
it is enough to freeze the warm blood, and to strike 
the soul with horror, to see them amused with trifles, 
and sleeping quite devoid of all concern. Yet these 
very men are under sentence of condemnation, and 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS* 



35 



Waiting only the hour of execution. For " the wrath 
of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodli- 
ness and unrighteousness of men." " Upon ttie wicked 
God shall rain down fire, and brimstone, and a horri- 
ble tempest ; this shall be the portion of their cup." 
"He that believeth not, is condemned already." 
Why then are they not alarmed? Why then this 
apathy ? It is because they do not believe. Did they 
believe that " God is angry with the wicked every 
day," and that all the heavy denunciations of his 
word will shortly be accomplished ; in the strong lan- 
guage of Scripture, " the joints of their loins would 
be loosened, and their knees would smite one against 
the other." If they had the faith of Noah, it would 
move them with fear, and lead them to prepare an 
ark for the saving of themselves* Had they the faith 
of devils, they would tremble ; but they have not 
even this, and " because sentence against an evil 
work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of 
the sons of men is fully Set in them to do evil." And 
though a hundred of their friends are hurried into 
eternity before their eyes, these human brutes graze 
on, and regard not the work of the Lord, nor the 
operations of his hands. 

But after all, what is this ease which flows from 
infidel persuasion? First, it is obtained with dif- 
ficulty ; for, before a man can find peace in this way, 
he has to disprove the Scriptures ; he has to reason 
down every species of evidence ; he has to explain 
how weak men could deliver the sublimest wisdom, 
or wicked men be the most ardent lovers of virtue ; 
he must believe that those who took nothing on trust, 



36 



fiAKRls's SERMONS 



and were never convicted of falsehood, were deceived 
in what they confidently affirmed; he has to persuade 
himself that he is wiser than the wisest of mankind : 
and, notwithstanding all his vanity, he must find this 
a difficult task. 

But secondly, it is partial, and liable to interrup- 
tion. There is an internal witness, called conscience, 
which, if it cannot govern, will nevertheless censure 
and vex him; and if for a moment he braves its 
chiding, he is still subject to bondage through fear of 
death. An alarming sermon, a sudden death, a vio- 
lent disease may revive in him a dismal apprehension 
that all will not end well; nay, a thousand circum- 
stances may tear from him his confidence, and leave 
him, like Felix, to shake and quake for fear. 

But, thirdly, his quiet is the more fatal, the less 
liable it is to be disturbed ; for it is in his perversity 
he has wearied the good Spirit, and God sheds over 
him avenging darkness. He received not the truth 
in the love of it, and for this cause God has sent him 
strong delusion, that he may believe a lie ; that he 
may be damned, because he had pleasure in unrigh- 
teousness. 

But, fourthly, this ease is fatal ; for it must end m 
anguish and despair. Our disbelief of the word of 
God will not falsify it. If a man have swallowed poi- 
son, his belief that it will not kill him does not pro- 
duce safety ; and it is awful to stand and see the 
death and conviction of a sinner come on at once. 
Your denying a resurrection and future judgment, will 
not keep you in the grave for ever, or prevent your 
appearance before the judgment-seat of Christ. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS* 



37 



Noah preached righteousness to the old World, but 
they derided him, and pursued their pleasures, and 
knew not till the flood came and swept them away. 
Just so, when the wicked are saying, Peace and 
safety, sudden destruction cometh on them, and they 
shall not escape. But, 

II. We said some entertain false quiet through vain 
confidence. Of this class of men was the boasting 
Pharisee : " God, I thank thee that I am not as other 
men are, &c." Of this class was Saul, who was 
" alive without the law :" of this class was the 
Church of Laodicea, who thought themselves rich, 
and increased in goods, and knew not that they were 
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Nor are 
such characters rare at the present day ; they form 
the majority of our congregations, and oppose the 
greatest barriers to the success of our ministry. For 
this confidence keeps them from seeking after salva- 
tion. Were it not for this shelter, they would be in- 
duced to flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set 
before them. Knowing the danger of this refuge of 
lies, our Saviour saith, publicans and harlots shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven before them. Few 
vindicate open vice, and when we charge home guilt 
On the openly profane, we may succeed; but no 
weapon can penetrate this self-righteous coat of mail 
Do we urge him to flee approaching wrath ?— he is 
in no danger. Do we press him to repent ? — he needs 
no repentance. Do we exhort him to believe ?— he 
congratulates himself that he is a believer. And O 
how great will be his surprise and regret, when, in 



HARRIS'S SERMOIS'S 



the height of the storm, he first learns the weakness 
of his house ! 

III. But, thirdly, the false peace of the wicked 
arises from practical indifference. The class of men 
of whom I now speak, are not chargeable with 
ignorance of the truths we teach. They know the 
Gospel in theory, but never felt its power in their 
hearts. They have heard it from their infancy, and 
are distinctly familiar with all its truths. They 
applaud our doctrine ; but they show no more 
solicitude to obey the Gospel, than if we exhorted 
them to follow a cunningly devised fable. Their life 
is a perpetual contradiction to their creed; they 
believe that there is a hell of endless wretchedness, 
yet take no pains to avoid it; that there is a heaven 
of eternal blessedness, yet use no efforts to obtain 
it. I need not tell such, that they are not Christians ; 
I need not tell them what a paradox they are ; I need 
not tell them what a waste of means they have occa- 
sioned ; I need not tell them, that above all others, 
they may expect to be beaten with most stripes, for 
they have known their Master's will, and have not 
done it. Such are sermon-proof. A Bible has ex- 
hausted its treasures upon you. It has, as it were, 
thrown heaven and hell at your feet, and neither has 
excited you. Surely you have reason to apprehend 
that such means, so long used in vain, will always be 
useless; surely you have cause to fear that hell will 
be your portion. 

From what has been said we may learn, that the 
tranquillity of the wicked is deceptive and false. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



39 



This David learned when faith regained its empire in 
his heart : then he saw them standing on slippery 
places. How are they brought into desolation as in 
a moment: they are utterly consumed with terror ; 
" as a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when 
thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image." 

If such be their condition, how should we dread 
false security in religion ! — It precedes awful surprise, 
44 wo to them that are at ease !" And how should 
the minister of the Gospel strive to alarm their fears* 
and awaken their consciences. How serious will it 
be, to be reproached in eternity by the people of our 
charge, for an unfaithful handling of the word of God* 
or for a man-pleasing spirit ; which, rather than 
trouble a sinner's conscience, will let him go down to 
eternal night. 

But what we have said may be considered con- 
soling to those who are troubled. With downcast 
looks you make your way toward the better country ; 
you have your evil things, like Lazarus, while the 
rich and careless have their good things. But soon 
will he, who appoints the mourner beauty for ashes, 
appear in your behalf. 



SERMON III. 



*$nd I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she y 
repented not Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and 
them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation? 
except they repent Rev. ii. 21, 22. 

TfflS Book was written by the apostle John, in an 
isle, called Patmos, which is situated in the iEgean 
Sea, and is about thirty miles in circumference. 
Thither the apostle was banished, most probably by 
Nero, for bearing witness to Christ, as the Immanuel 
and Saviour of the world. 

But under this confinement it was the apostle's 
comfort, that he did not suffer as an evil-doer. The 
cause in which he suffered was worth suffering for; 
and the spirit of glory and of God rested upon this 
persecuted apostle. As to the book itself, it is called 
the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 

In the Gospel of John we read the life of Christ on 
earth, as a man conversing with men, humble, poor, 
weak and suffering. We behold a sacrifice ready to 
be offered*, and one appointed to sorrow and death. 

But in the Revelation of Saint John, we have the 
Gospel of Christ, who was now raised from the dead. 
He speaks and acts as having conquered the grave, 
and triumphed over death arid hell; as having entered 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 41 

into the place of his glory, angels and principalities 
being subject unto him. 

It was by the ministry of one of these angels, (by 
which term we are to understand a messenger sent 
from God) that this revelation was made to St. John. 

The second and third chapters contain the seven 
epistles to the seven churches of Asia, which are 
particularly addressed, because, as is commonly 
believed, they were under St. John's immediate in- 
spection. He was commanded to write to every one 
of them, according to their actual state and circum- 
stances ; and to inscribe every letter to the angel or 
minister of the church. 

The form and order of the epistles are much the 
same. First, a command to write ; then some cha- 
racter or attribute of the speaker, taken from the 
vision in the first chapter, and appropriated to the 
matter in each epistle ; then commendations or 
reproofs, with suitable promises or threatenings : and, 
in all, the same conclusion, He that hath ears to hear, 
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. In 
which we have an intimation, that what was written 
aforetime, was written for our learning. 

We have the four first of these letters in the chap- 
ter in which the text is found : those to Ephesus, 
Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira ; and in the faithful 
reproof contained in this last-mentioned epistle, we 
have the words of the text. 

Thyatira was a city of Proconsular Asia, bordering 
upon Mysia on the north, and Lydia on the south, 
It was a town of trade, from whence came the woman 
named Lydia, a seller of purple, who being at Phi- 

6 



•42 



Harris's sermons 



lippi, in Macedonia, (probably about the business of 
her calling,) heard Paul preach there, and God 
opened her heart to receive the truth, and she was 
baptised. Whether it was by her means that the 
Gospel was carried into her own city, Thyatira, is 
not certain. But that it was there, and successful in 
forming a Gospel church, this epistle assures us. 
This church, though its piety is commended, had well 
nigh drawn mischief and the Divine displeasure on 
itself, by holding intercourse with a certain impure 
character or characters, denominated Jezebel. It 
has been thought by some eminent men, that there 
was in this church a great and powerful woman, who, 
having been corrupted herself, did afterward harbour 
false prophets, who endeavoured to subvert the faith 
of the Christians. By others, it has been thought, 
that by Jezebel, we are to understand Helena, the 
concubine of Simon Magus. But it is most probable 
that it is a symbol taken from the case of Ahab, 
whose wife Jezebel had an unhappy influence in 
introducing idolatry in Israel, and was a great enemy 
of the Lord's prophets ; I say, it is most probable, 
that Jezebel is put for a symbol of the Gnostics and 
Nicolaitans, who taught the lawfulness of fornication, 
and eating things sacrificed to idols. 

The principal fault of the church at Thyatira 
was, that she did not execute discipline on these 
disciples of mystical Jezebel : and it is to her and 
her adherents that the words of the text primarily 
refer. 

We will just observe, that this Jezebel had a 
state of probation, which, being unworthily filled, had 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



43 



stamped the most gloomy character on her eternal 
destiny. We hold her up as a beacon, on which we 
behold inserted the following useful observations. 

I. Repentance is necessary to prevent the sinner's 
ruin. 

II. Repentance requires time, a course of time, 
and time convenient. 

III. When God gives space for repentance, he ex- 
pects fruits meet for repentance. 

IV. Where the space of repentance is lost, the 
sinner perishes with a double destruction. 

O that God may this day anoint your speaker with 
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven ! 

I. And first — Repentance is necessary to prevent 
the sinner's ruin. Permit me to state, in this place, 
that I intend to act and speak under the influence of 
St. Peter's advice : " If any man speak, let him speak 
as the oracles of God." 

Let it here be observed, that God, from a very 
early period, gave intimations of his intention to 
judge the world, at some future period, in righteous- 
ness. From this it appears, that man, as an intelli- 
gent being, is placed in a probationary state ; of 
course, he must have had a law to regulate his con- 
duct. To think otherwise will involve an absurdity, 
and will at once destroy the idea of his dependency 
and accountableness. The first covenant God entered 



44 



Harris's sermons 



into with Adam, included a precept, which was given 
as a test of obedience. This being violated ,by 
Adam, he could no longer stand on a footing of works, 
or absolute righteousness : thus falling, he involved 
us, seminally, in his ruin. 

After this, in thundering artillery and dread array, 
on smoking Sinai, the great Jehovah somewhat 
enlarged and republished his law. But it is evident 
that no man is justified in the sight of God by the 
requisitions of this law, for this plain reason, that no 
man has complied, or can, in an unrenewed state, 
comply with them : and indeed, it is only by this law 
that we obtain a knowledge of sin. So that con- 
sidering the decalogue as a rule of life, there is no 
unconverted man that dares to say, that he is ready 
to be judged by it. 

But what the law could not do, in that it was weak 
through the flesh, God has done, by sending his Son 
into the world in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for 
sin condemned sin in the flesh. This observation 
brings into view the merciful economy of grace 
under which we live : of which dispensation it may be 
observed, that it does not require bare theory, but 
practice and experiment also. For of the new cove- 
nant saints, it is said, " Sin shall not have dominion 
over you, for you are not under the law, but under 
grace:'' from which it is easy to perceive, that the new 
testament requires complete renovation. According 
to the Gospel plan of salvation, which is a display of 
the divine perfections, it is necessary, through the 
light it affords, that we should see and repent of our 
sins. For till the conscience be awakened to a true 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



45 



sense of the evil of sin, a man cannot enter into a 
state of justification: it would totally subvert the 
design of the Gospel, if an unawakened soul could 
be justified. Yea, experience as well as Scripture 
declares, that none ever was truly convinced of 
righteousness that was not first truly convinced of 
sin. As he, then, who is not convinced of sin, can- 
not be justified; and as he who is not justified, is 
condemned, the wrath of God abiding on him ; it is 
evident, that repentance is necessary to prevent the 
sinner's ruin. This will be rendered still more im- 
pressive if we listen to the Lord Jesus Christ preach- 
ing his own truth ; " Except ye repent, ye shall all 
likewise perish." And in that inimitable sermon on 
the Mount, repentance seems to have been his text: 
where he first shows in what it consists, and then 
points out its reward. St. Paul, who received his 
mission from Christ, comprised what he had said in 
Asia under two general heads — repentance towards 
God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor did 
Peter omit to bear testimony to the indispensable 
necessity of this doctrine, where he says, " Repent, 
and be converted," &c. But it would be too tedious 
to quote all the passages in which the indispensable 
necessity of repentance is evident. Again, I repeat 
it, (and may God impress it on your hearts !) that in 
the book of his decrees it is written, that repentance 
is necessary to prevent the sinners ruin. 
I proceed, as was proposed, 

II. To show that repentance requires time, a course 
of time, and time convenient. 



46 HARRIS'S SERMONS 

However men are ready to admit, that the attain- 
ment of riches or honour generally requires time and 
and a series of exertion ; yet they seem to think that 
the concerns of the soul may be settled in a few 
hours. They seem to think that one feeble, dying 
effort, will be sufficient to open for them the gates of 
heaven, and introduce them to all that exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory, Hence, when the man of 
God would urge the necessity of repentance, they 
say, " Go thy way for this time ; at a more convenient 
season I will send for thee :" the matters you speak 
of, say they, are important ; but not so much so as 
the concerns of this life : these require unremitting 
exertion ; those I can procure on a dying bed. My 
brethren, will not the folly of this conduct appear, if 
first, we view the nature of Gospel repentance, which 
is a godly sorrow wrought in the heart of a sinful 
person by the word and Spirit of God, whereby, from 
a sense of his sin. as being offensive to God, murder- 
ous to Christ, and defiling to his own soul ; and from 
an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, he, 
with hatred of all known sins, turns from them to God, 
as his only Saviour and Lord. Is this the w r ork of 
an hour, and that on a sick bed ? 

The necessity of space for repentance will further 
appear, if we consider the ordinary manner in which 
God works on men's hearts in this our day. How- 
ever God, for the display of his power and mercy, 
might instantaneously convict, and almost as sudden- 
ly convert Paul ; yet this is not his ordinary way of 
working of late. Paul was possessed of all the pre- 
judice and enmity of a Jew; but we are trained up 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



47 



in the Christian persuasion : and I will venture to say, 
that most commonly, justification follows a course of 
reflection, study, repentance, and prayer. 

From what has been said, you have collected our 
views of a death-bed repentance it is a poor de- 
pendance. But, says one, why was the history of the 
crucified thief recorded, who obtained justification on 
the cross ? Let me tell you, brethren, his case was 
not analogous to ours. He, perhaps, had not been 
blessed with a godly education ; accomplices in vice 
might have corrupted him the more ; he was young, 
and might have died for his first offence ; he might 
never have heard of a Saviour before ; and from all 
these considerations, Christ, who saw the depth of 
his repentance, might see- fit to record his case as a 
prodigy of his grace. I trust you will no longer, 
through an impression that the hardy tree of repen- 
tance is the sickly growth of an hour, procrastinate 
that work till death ; but that you will avail your- 
selves of offered grace, and according to your 
advantages, bring forth fruits meet for repentance. 
Which leads to the third thing to be considered, 
namely, 

III. When God gives space for repentance, he 
expects fruits meet for repentance : " I gave her 
space to repent, and she repented not." Here you 
will permit me to state, that when God offers his 
grace to the human family, he is in earnest; and 
being possessed of infinite wisdom, he always pro- 
portions the weight of motives to repentance and 
holiness, to our agency. Hence we perceive our 
accountability. This we are taught, moreover, by 



48 



Harris's sermons 



the parable of the talents, in which those servants 
only were commended, who had improved their 
talents, according to the design of the master who 
gave them. And in the parable of the fig-tree that 
was planted in the vineyard, the owner, it seems, was 
disappointed, inasmuch as he came three years seek- 
ing fruit, and finding none. And the fearful sentence, 
that had been executed on it but for the intercession 
of the vine-dresser, was founded on its advantages, 
connected with its barrenness. 

The success which our Saviour anticipated from 
his own death, plainly indicates, that where much is 
given, much will be required. " And 1," says he, " if 
I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." You see, 
sinner, that such a display of divine goodness was 
intended to captivate and fix upon himself the affec- 
tions of all men. And, indeed, the heavy judgments 
with which the Jews were long threatened, and which 
at last fell upon them, were, for having long neglected 
the warnings of his messengers, and also rejected 
Christ his anointed, who did works among them 
which no other man could do. According, then, to 
the language of mortals, when God long blesses the 
sinner with space and means for repentance, he ex- 
pects fruits meet for repentance ; and it is because 
we frustrate the favourable designs of the Almighty, 
and exclude ourselves from the mercy of God, that 
he finally curses us with eternal misery. This leads 
to the last thing to be considered, namely 

IV. Where the space for repentance is lost, the sin- ' 
ner perishes with a double vengeance, or destruction. 
This is inferred from many other passages of holy 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS'. 



49 



writ, as well as from the words of our text, which 
saith, / gave her space to repent of her fornication, and 
she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and 
them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, 
except they repent 

Here I would just observe, that fornication, and 
adultery, which are nearly synonymous terms, are 
predicated of that union subsisting between Christ and 
his people, represented by the close union of the two 
parties in holy wedlock. In a scriptural sense, it 
implies the detachment of the Christian's affections 
from God, and their attachment to false and earthly 
lovers or idols, whether the world, the flesh, or the 
devil, false doctrine, or those who teach it, as 
Jezebel, in the text. It is Jezebel, however, who, 
in the words of the text, is threatened with this sore 
punishment for her impenitence. " Behold," says 
Jehovah, " 1 will cast her into a bed," &c. which, 
taken metaphorically, signifies distress of the most 
tormenting kind, as does the other expression, " great 
tribulation;" which, in scripture language, signifies 
the deepest trouble : — being squeezed, or threshed, 
as corn on a floor. But, according to Mr. Wood, in 
his Dictionary in this place, it signifies the torments 
of hell. This, however, was to be incurred by final 
impenitence, and this must be the end of all the in- 
corrigible. 

Many suppose, because the judgments of God 
long delay, that they shall never overtake them. But 
be it known to you, impenitent sinner, you "jj|©. but 
treasure up to yourself wrath against the day of 
wrath. Though the inhabitants of Sodom long 

7 



50 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



enjoyed the instruction of Lot, yet, by its repeated 
abuse they pulled down upon themselves the fiercest 
wrath and indignation of the Almighty. And the 
Antediluvians, who enjoyed and abused the preach- 
ing of Noah for many years, were finally overwhelmed 
with the most fearful destruction. The Jews, more- 
over, who had received many faithful warnings, at 
last miserably perished. " He that being often re- 
proved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be 
destroyed, and that without remedy." How fearful 
are his decrees ? " Because I have called, and ye 
refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man 
regarded, I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will 
mock when your fear cometh." 

My dear brethren, what think ye of the discussion 
of the subject ? Is repentance necessary to prevent 
the sinner's ruin ? I think we made it appear suffi- 
ciently plain, that it is. Well, have you ever repent- 
ed ? If you have, you may have obtained justifica- 
tion ; but if not, I must tell you that you are in the 
road to ruin. 

But does repentance require time convenient? 
Then, I would ask, if you do not act unwisely, in 
putting it off to a dying hour? You will have enough 
to do then, to grapple with the pains of your body ? 

But does the Almighty look for fruits meet for 
repentance, when he gives space for repentance ? 
How has he been disappointed, (speaking after the 
manner of men) in his just expectation. Is it not a 
pity that designs so fatherly should be frustrated ? 

Does the sinner, who long rejects offered grace, 
seal his own destruction? Are you not then, in dan- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



51 



ger of everlasting burnings ? Surely if ever the Lord 
gave space to any people to repent, he has given it 
to you. How, O how will you answer for all the 
misimproved advantages you have enjoyed? Can 
you*suppose that God will be mocked ? Do you think 
you can deceive him ? Reflect on the folly of attempt- 
ing it. Who ever hardened his heart against God, 
and prospered ? 

Once more, in addition to the ten thousand warn- 
ings you have received, I call upon you, in the name 
of God, to repent. But it lies to your own choice : 
if you choose death, you must die; but if you choose 
life, you shall live. 



SERMON IV, 



Neither be partaker of other mens sins. 1 Tim. v. 22. 

SlN is that conduct whereby we miss the mark of 
God's law and our own happiness. Sin, iniquity, 
unrighteousness, ungodliness, and wickedness, are 
words of nearly the same meaning, and denote, in 
general, what is contrary to the divine law ; as with- 
holding what is due to God or man ; or an opposition 
to the nature, worship, and service of God. As to 
the origin or introduction of sin into the world, St. 
Paul informs us, that " by one man's disobedience 
many were made sinners." Rom. v. 19. That is, by 
the disobedience of Adam we were constituted semi- 
nally guilty persons, and in consequence of it our 
whole man was laid under the reigning power of sin. 
The effect, or end of sin is death. " Then when lust 
hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin : and sin, when 
it is finished, bringeth forth death." James i. 15* 

For the wages of sin is death." Rom. vi. 23. Again, 
" Thus saith the Lord, all souls are mine. — The soul 
that sinneth, it shall die." Ezek. xviii. 6. These are 
strong words, the words of God, who cannot lie. 

I cannot persuade myself that there is any person 
here, who will not take at least a momentary review 
of life, to see if he has not sinned against God. And 
if it is but a glance, of life we take, we shall no doubt 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 53 

perceive that we have ; for the apostle saith, " All 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 

If the Gospel, with which we are put in charge by 
God, should have its designed, its saving effect, you 
will next inquire, whether or not you have repented ; 
that is, whether sin has been so embittered to you*, 
as to cause you to cry mightily to God for power to 
resist it. And if you have not, you will this day set 
about it with serious alarm ; and this alarm will pro- 
bably be increased, when we assure you, that you 
have not only your own sins lying upon you, but that 
many of the sins of your fellow-creatures are press- 
ing you down to perdition. For, however little we 
may have considered it in the bustle of life, there are 
but few, who, in a greater or less degree, do not par- 
take of other men's sins. 

The primary design of these words was, to pre- 
vent Timothy, and, through him, all who have the 
appointment of preachers, of every sect and party, 
from hastily bringing forward those into the ministry 
who are not well approved. 64 Lay hands suddenly 
on no man." Do not, without much prayer and 
serious deliberation, appoint any person to the sacred 
ministry ; for as it is a sin for an- improper person to 
thrust himself into that sacred office, so he that sanc- 
tions him is a partaker of his sin. 

Having premised thus much, we design to improve 
the subject, by pointing out in general, the nature and 
danger of partaking of other men's sins, 

I am led to treat of this subject by a belief that the 
caution which it contains is much more necessary 
than men are apt to suspect ; both on account of the 



54 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



aggravation which our own sins receive, from a parti- 
cipation of the sins of others, and of our liability to 
partake of them, either directly or indirectly. 

1. To begin with the leading thought which occu- 
pied the apostle's mind — When may a minister be 
said to partake of other men's sins ? We have 
already stated, that a premature ordination, or impo- 
sition of hands, was the primary allusion of the 
apostle. In this there is injury done to the person 
who is ordained — to those to whom he is recom- 
mended or sent — and to the general cause. To the 
person so ordained, in that he, being a novice, is lia- 
ble to be lifted up with pride, and to fall into the con- 
demnation of the devil : to those to whom he is sent, 
in that he cannot take care of the church of God : 
to the general cause, in that the office and dignity of 
the ministerial character are disparaged. O what a 
serious account will those bishops, presbyters, and 
others, have to give to God, who, sustaining the 
responsibility of a general superintendence over the 
church, abuse it by ill-judged sanctions; and by 
" laying careless hands on empty skulls, that cannot 
teach, and will not learn." 

2. But again, senior ministers may partake of the 
sins of their younger brethren in the ministry, in 
other ways. I say, sins ; for who can doubt that pride 
is a sin ; and what so likely to excite it as unqualified 
praise ? Moreover, who will dispute thai; too great 
depression of spirit is criminal; and what so well 
calculated to produce and increase it, as that reserve, 
which by some has been miscalled prudence; by 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



55 



which senior ministers withhold from their juniors 
the enlivening assurances of probable success, if 
they continue devoted to God, and attentive to read- 
ing ? St Paul was not afraid of doing harm, when 
he exhorted Timothy to stir up the gift that was 
in him; nor need we fear it, when we are speak- 
ing to Timothies ! 

3. But again ; a minister may be said to partake of 
other men's sins in a more general sense. If he has 
run, not being sent, he shall not profit God's people ; 
consequently the part of the vineyard entrusted to 
his care, must suffer for want of proper cultivation. 
If, being sent of God, he should become remiss or 
indolent; if, instead of giving himself to reading, 
to exhortation, to doctrine, he should fritter away 
his time in idle visits and frivolous conversation, 
such as is not profitable to the use of edifying ; he 
falls under the denomination of an idler ; and it is 
said, « Wo to the idle shepherd that leaveth the 
flock ! the sword shall be upon his arm ; and upon 
his right eye : his arm shall be clean dried up, and his 
right eye shall be utterly darkened." Zech. ii. 17. 
If the scruples of believers themselves are to be sa- 
tisfied — if Moses and the prophets are to be brought 
to bear witness to Jesus of Nazareth — if the calum- 
nies of the blaspheming Jews are to be repelled, and 
their misinterpretations of their own books confuted 
— if we are to be ready, that is, if we are to be quali- 
fied and prepared to give an answer to every man 
that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us :— ■ 
then a penetration in abstruse questions ; a familiar 
knowledge of the Jewish history, and of all parts 



56 



Harris's sermons 



of the sacred writings ; a sound judgment; a faithful 
memory ; and a prompt elocution, (to say nothing of 
a quickness in philosophical discussion, and a critical 
knowledge of the ancient languages) are talents, 
without which the work of an evangelist will be but 
ill performed. 

4. But again ; a minister may be said to partake of 
other men's sins in a still more direct manner. Leav- 
ing his example, when not in the pulpit, quite out of 
view, I shall not mention that misplaced familiarity 
which he indulges with the ungodly ; unlike the con- 
duct of David, who, when the wicked were before 
him, kept his mouth with a bridle. Ps. xxxix. 1. A 
familiarity which renders them much better satisfied 
with their state, and much more callous under his 
ministry, than if he were generally to manifest a re- 
spectful reserve towards them; as if he were sensible 
that the wrath of God abideth on them, till they have 
fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them. 
I shall not mention that time-serving sanction, which 
is given by some modern ministers, when asked their 
private opinion concerning some of what the world 
would call, and have them call, the innocent amuse- 
ments of the day, or rather of the night : I shall only 
speak here of his public ministerial duties. 

The design of the Christian ministry is to convert 
and save men. Now, prejudice against the peculiar 
doctrines of the Gospel, is one of the most common 
obstacles in the way of conversion. 

The Scripture describes man as alienated from the 
life of God ; as in a state of enmity against God ; as 
in a state of wrath and condemnation; as dead in 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS* 



57 



trespasses and sins ; as incapable of discerning the 
things of the Spirit ; as evil, only evil continually, in 
the imagination of the thoughts of his heart; as 
without hope, and without God in the world. Does 
the minister, either through inadequate views of 
man's total apostacy from God, or to court the appro- 
bation of the worldly and superficial, satisfy himself 
with a qualified representation of the subject ? Does 
he, by a general and timid description, weaken the 
whole force of this fundamental doctrine ? He runs 
the risk of partaking of all the sins which arise from 
the impenitence of his hearers. 

1. The word of God, when skilfully handled, is like 
fire, and a hammer ; it is also compared to a sword. 
The minister who does not unfold the law, and strive 
to show men all the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and 
their need of repentance and salvation in Christ, is, 
in some sort, chargeable with their destruction. " I 
have made thee as a watchman unto the house of 
Israel — when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt 
surely die : and thou givest him not warning, nor 
speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, 
to save his life ; the same wicked man shall die in 
his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand," 
Ezek. hi. 17, 18. 

2. Again, the Scriptures declare the indispensable 
necessity of regeneration, or the new birth ; and 
describe it as the awaking out of sleep ; the resur- 
rection of the soul from a death of sin to a life of 
righteousness : the translation of the soul from the 
power of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear 
Son ; the new creation in Christ ; and so on. 

8 



HARRISES SERMONS 



Does the minister confound this universal change 
of heart and life with the sacrament of baptism ? 
Does he make it out little more than the decency of 
professional character ? He runs an awful risk of 
destroying the souls of his hearers, by thus lowering 
the energetic influence of vital Christianity so infi- 
nitely beneath its own magnitude and design, which 
is to renew the heart, and save us from the world, 
self, and sin. 

3. Once more; the Scriptures speak of God as 
willing the perfection or sanctification of believers ? 
and promising that sin shall not have dominion over 
them ; as having provided a Saviour for them, whose 
blood cleanseth from all sin. Does the preacher 
plead for the necessity of indwelling sin ? He runs the 
risk of eclipsing the glories of that Gospel, which, pro- 
ceeding from God, is as pure as its Author, and which 
effects not its purpose till it purifies as he is pure. 

I cannot close these remarks without observing, 
that without a clear perception of Gospel truth, and 
all the freshness and permanency of its moral influ- 
ences ; without a sense of God, and of the rightful 
allegiance that is due to him; without a dexterity in 
comparing the heart with the requirements of the law 
of God ; without practical appeals to the conscience 
without an inward discernment of the very element 
and principle of rebellion in the heart, and that 
general coldness which prevails concerning the mat- 
ters of duty and salvation; unless there is such an 
earnest and overpowering sense of all this, as will 
fix a minister down to the single object of deliver- 
ance ; as will make him awake only to those realities 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



59 



which have a significant and substantial bearing on 
the case that engrosses him ; as will teach him to 
nauseate all the impertinencies of tasteful and ambi- 
tious description ; as will attach him to truth in its 
simplicity ; fasten his every regard on the Bible ; and 
endear him to that plainness of speech, by which 
his own experience is set evidently before him; and 
that plain phraseology of Scripture, which is best 
suited to send home the doctrine of redemption in 
all its truth, and all the preciousness of its applica- 
tion: in one word, unless the wisdom of winning 
souls is dearest to him — throwing away all the loveli- 
ness of song, and the insignificancy of its passing fas- 
cination : unless these, which we denominate the gifts 
of the Holy Ghost, are possessed by a minister of the , 
Gospel ; though his deficiency may not be of a nature 
to be referred to any particular head, he is a solemn 
trifler — he is a prostitutor of the sacred office — he is 
a canker to religion — he is dragging down his fellow- 
creatures to damnation, by weakening the vital influ- 
ence of Christ's all-powerful Gospel, by his ill-judged 
eloquence, or by the spiritless impotence of a dead 
ministry. 

My time, well nigh exhausted, will not suffer me to 
abstract from the primary design of these words, and 
apply them, as I had intended, generally to all men. 
I intended to show how pernicious is the influence of 
example ; and how, by the mysterious sympathies of 
our nature, mankind are drawn together, and formed 
on each others character and model ; and how they 
insensibly slide into manners that are continually pre- 



60 



Harris's sermons 



sented to view in the public example ; and how the 
greater part of the world follow just as they are 
led. We did design to point out especially, what a 
fatal currency actions receive from the example of 
the rich. For proof of this, I might refer you to 
the perpetual change in the article of dress, and 
every thing whose chief recommendation arises from 
fashion. The agreeable effect of an ornament arises 
from the principle of the association of ideas ; and it 
is only while such an article of dress is confined to 
the rich, that it will please. When it is obtained and 
worn by the poor, who strain every nerve to keep up 
with the rich, it not only ceases to please, but fills the 
mind with disgust; being associated with the ideas 
of absurd imitation and vulgarity, and is accordingly 
laid aside by the rich. Hence too, it is, that the 
abettors of riotous amusements and pleasures, which 
debauch the mind, seek to give celebrity to an 
intended ball, by exhibiting a few leading names as 
managers : this obtains for the rout the denomination 
of decent. But I confess, I never could think that 
great names can sanctify crime, or weaken the force 
of God's word, which places revelling among the 
seventeen black marks of abomination, and declares 
that they who do such things shall not inherit the 
kingdom of heaven. O ye corrupters of the age, who 
give tone to the public manners, how many crimes, not 
absolutely your own, will appear against you in the 
day of eternity. 

I did design also to show, how easily we may una- 
wares partake of other men's sins by counsel ; and 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



61 



the evil effect of the counsel is greater, when those 
who give it are regarded as superiors. 

It would be easy to show that we partake of 
other men's sins by ridicule, and attaching disagreea- 
ble ideas to religion, either through enmity to the 
cross of Christ, or to show our wit. We are, doubt- 
less, chargeable with the sins of others, which we 
might have prevented by a proper exercise of that: 
authority, which nature or Providence has given us 
over them. And here we can but observe, what 
cause we have to fear, lest, for want of parental 
restraint, our children should charge us with their 
destruction in a coming day. 

We partake of other men's sins, when we furnish 
them with means and opportunities of sinning. How 
oft is this verified in the indulgences allowed to chil- 
dren, both in their dress, and in the company they are 
permitted to keep. But I cannot enter fully into 
these subjects ; nor shall I even mention provocation, 
flattery, and concealment, as so many different me- 
thods by which we partake of other men's sins. 

What we have said will cause every one to exa- 
mine, whether, in addition to his own sins, he may not 
have to answer for the sins of others also. And those 
who have been promoters of sinful actions in others, 
may be well assured that they will have the greater 
punishment. 

But as it is possible for us to partake of the sins of 
others, may we not also be the promoters of other 
men's righteousness ? May not the faithful minister 
of the Gospel, though but a humble instrument in 
the hands of God. look forward with joyful antici- 



62 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 

pation to that day, when those who have turned 
many to righteousness shall shine as stars in the firma- 
ment for ever and ever ? O what will he feel in the 
contemplation of a laborious, successful, and com- 
pleted ministry, when hundreds shall arise in the 
face of saints and angels, and point to him as the 
honoured instrument of their salvation. And you, 
who, by a godly example, have shown the power of 
religion, what ecstacies will you feel, when younger 
saints in glory will say, In you was I first taught to set 
a proper value on religion. And you, parents, how 
will it overflow your hearts with transport indescri- 
bable, when, in the congregation of the righteous f 
your children shall arise and call you blessed. 

My brethren, the kingdom of Jesus Christ is to be 
established in this world, and we may all regard our- 
selves as called to help in the great work. But you, 
the ministers of my God, you, in particular, are work- 
ers together with God. O let us bring every talent 
to the foot of the cross, and work for God ; he will 
pay us by and by. Go on, honoured fathers, in the 
glorious work : — and you, my younger brethren, feel 
for Zion ; take pleasure in her stones and dust. Help, 
local brethren, or let us help you. 

O Lord Almighty ! do thou help us all. Baptise 
us with the Holy Ghost;, and the pure fire of thy love : 
and hasten the triumphs of thy coming kingdom 
Amen. 



SERMON V,. 



From that time many of his disciples went bach and 
walked no more with him. John vi. 66. 

It is highly important that every man, when enter- 
ing into the service of God, should maturely ponder 
both the nature and tendency of those flesh-crucify- 
ing and world-condemning doctrines, a thorough 
obedience to which is essential to the character 
which he is about to assume. Pursuant to this 
object, our Lord brings forward a maxim of human 
prudence, and very significantly inquires, (having 
first mentioned the cross attached to his religion) 
M Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not 
down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have 
sufficient to finish it ? Lest all, who passing by, and 
beholding his unfinished design, mock him, saying. 
This man began to build, and was not able to finish.*' 
It was for want of this forethought, that some of our 
Lord's too sanguine disciples, or hearers, took um- 
brage at the artless enunciation he gave them con- 
cerning the sublime mysteries of this Gospel, and the 
probable sufferings which they should endure for his 
sake. And although one, impressed with a lively 
sense of Jesus's love, might say, like a vehement 
Peter. ;4 Lord, I will die for thee yet such was their 



61 



HARRISES SERMONS 



disgust, that from that time they went back, and 
walked no more with him. 

My brethren, does not the undaunted courage of 
Moses show to great advantage, when compared with 
that pusillanimity which paralysed the souls of these 
revolted disciples ? Moses, with a soul as large as 
eternity, and darting forward into all its immeasura- 
ble length, made light of whatever disagreeable cir- 
cumstance might accompany religion in this world. 
The revolting disciples, with souls as little as minute* 
ness itself, filling only the passing moment, and toned 
to the mere relish of sensual pleasure ; said, " Give 
me the portion of goods which cometh to me ;" and 
for one fleet moment's despicable joy, slung from 
them whole treasures of never-ending felicity. My 
brethren, whose conduct, — that of Moses, or that of 
the offended disciples — bears best the criterion of 
sound understanding and good sense ? Ah ! methinks 
the star of Moses's faith shines bright, through the 
darkness of their deplorable folly ! 

But whence is it, dear friends, that while we ap- 
prove of the choice of Moses, we imitate the conduct 
of the disciples who were so soon offended ? Whence 
is it, that our comparatively small suffering for 
Christ, so soon offends our delicacy, and hides from 
our eyes the attractions of his love, which, to those 
who know it, softens every thing the most painful in 
duty, and lightens every thing the most heavy in his 
yoke ? Have you been decoyed into his service by a 
flattering promise of undisturbed tranquillity in this 
world ? A certain scribe, struck with the dignity and 
beauty of our Lord, once said to him, " Master, I 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." Jesus 
said to him, " The foxes have holes, and the birds 
of the air have nests ; but the Son of Man hath not 
where to lay his head." An amiable young man 
came to our Lord, having made up his mind to under- 
take the enterprize of salvation. " Good Master," 
said he, "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 
Our Lord first told him what he must do,— " keep 
the commandments ;" and then, though he loved the 
young man, plainly assured him what he must suffer, 
" Sell all thou hast, and give to the poor, and take 
up thy cross, and follow me :" which is, as if he had 
said, lay thy account to suffer reproach in this life. 
The kingdom of heaven is only gained by conquest, 
and none but those who do violence to themselves 
shall enter it. This is the time of trial. Peace and 
uninterrupted happiness are only known in heaven. 
Affrighted by the portrait, one is heard to exclaim, 
If these tribulations be inseparable from the Christian 
course, I abandon its pursuit ! 

Here, my brethren, here is disgust at religion. 
Foreseeing the offence of the cross, our Saviour said, 
* 4 Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in 
me." Aye, how many, either losing, or never having 
fully possessed the unction of grace, when the sun of 
persecution is risen, wither away — are offended, — 
and begin again to long for the indulgence of carnal 
gratification, and for the flesh-pots of Egypt ? It was 
for a crime of this kind, that the anger of the Lord 
was kindled against the children of Israel in the 
wilderness ; so that, of six hundred thousand who 

9 



66 



HARRISES SERMONS 



ieft Egypt, only Caleb and Joshua entered the Pro- 
mised Land. 

Now, I design to enter the field, to combat that dis- 
gust which turns back many that have started, and 
deters others from starting in the heavenly course. 

I. In the first place, it seems to me reasonable, in 
a world where the inquietudes and passions of the 
heart throw every thing into confusion, to complain 
of disgust, only when we meet with it in the way of 
duty. We seem to forget that every condition has 
its inconveniencies. We seem to think, that if we 
throw off the yoke of Christ, we at once bid adieu 
to trouble. But examine, in rotation, all stations. In- 
terrogate the partizans of worldly pleasure ; the 
envious ; the ambitious ; the revengeful ; and you will 
find that they also have their inquietudes. The 
world is the habitation of the discontented. You 
will find, as Solomon well expressed it, that " The 
way. of transgressors is hard." Joshua did not 
fear to contrast the service of God, with the service 
of the gods of the heathens. " If it seem evil to 
you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom 
you will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers 
served, that were on the other side of the flood, or 
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell." If 
by serving the Lord, you are deprived of happiness 
which the world can give, we might then accuse the 
Lord of treating his servants ill. But if the troubles 
of religion arise, not from any imperfection in virtue, 
but as a consequence of the condition of this mortal 
life ; if cares are inevitable in our present state, and 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



61' 



we must encounter disgust, either on the part of the 
world or of religion ; shall we not rather choose those 
sufferings which are meritorious, than those which t 
add to the number of our crimes ? ^ 

Peter seems to have contemplated this subject in 
a very rational point of view. Our Lord, seeing the 
general offence which his doctrines had given to the 
multitude, with a tenderness which forbade it, said 
to his disciples, " will ye also go away ?" Peter said, 
" Lord, to whom shall we go ?" As if he had said, 
Lord, we do not follow thee for the loaves and fishes. 
Thou didst not at the first promise to us a temporal 
recompense ; from the first we learend that in this 
world we should have tribulation : and so far from 
being offended, we thank thee for it ; for it makes us 
long for our deliverance, and for that immortal exis- 
tence where nothing shall be wanting to our happi- 
ness. If happiness could be found in the world, 
unmingled with distress, we should find it in thy ser- 
vice : for thy grace bridles our passions, charms 
away our sufferings, and gives us a blessed foretaste 
of perfect felicity. If we leave thee, Lord, to whom 
shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life \ 
and though this is a land of tears and conflict, thy 
doctrines reveal to us a world of eternal happiness,— 
our faith embraces thy promises, — and we expect 
that when we shall have sowed in tears, we shall 
reap in joy. Jesus, Master, we will not, for fear of 
reproach, abandon thee ; for should we forsake thee, 
the fountain of living water, and seek happiness else- 
where, our expectation would end in disappointment, 



68 



Harris's sermons 



and prove but a broken cistern that could hold no 
water. 

II. It .seems to me, in the second place, that we 
exaggerate the disgusts of religion. We admit that 
this life is the time of the birth of the new man, 
which is always attended with pain ; that this is the 
time of mortification and privation; and that we must 
begin, in order to be Christians, by waging war with 
ourselves. Yet I am disposed to believe, that it is 
the prejudice of the senses which rises up against 
religion ; and that it is only the first glance we take 
of it which paints it in gloomy and melancholy 
colours. What is this world ? Tell me, ye men of 
experience, what is this world ? It is a scene of revo- 
lutions, troubles and perpetual changes. It is a 
course where ten thousand deluded maniacs run 
after pleasures which continually elude their grasp. 
Tell me, then, if that religion, which places us above 
the phrenzies, jealousies, and suspicions of the world, 
and gives us dominion over our own hearts, is not 
more desirable than the giddy whirl of transient 
delight, which leaves behind it the envenomed sting 
of damning guilt ? Tell me, O tell me, if Moses's 
choice will not bear the test of sound judgment, 
when he preferred the afflictions of God's people, to 
the bewitching sorceries of forbidden pleasure ! 
What is this world ? It is the bedlam of the universe 
— it is a dungeon of groans — it is a valley of tears — 
it is a desert cursed with briars and thorns, for the 
punishment of those who dwell in it. Tell me, 
parents, bereft of your children, is not this a true 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



69 



description ? Tell me, woman, widowed of conjugal 
bliss ; tell me, helpless orphan, left to the mercy of 
the world ; tell me, ye who are always expecting, and 
always disappointed, if I have painted this world in 
unfair colours ? O then, I put it to you, is not the worst 
of religion better than the best of the world, if it 
consoles us in these events, supports us in these 
storms, and calms us in these agitations ? Our light 
afflictions which are but for a moment, (admit that 
some of them may spring from our profession of 
religion) work out for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the 
things which are seen, but at the things which are 
eternal. Let me then submit to the fatigue of duty, 
(if you will call it so) if it deliver me from the bon- 
dage of sin, which weighs me down. Let grace 
mortify my passions, if it may but weaken them. Let 
the sword of affliction pierce my heart, if it may only 
let out the defiled matter. 

III. I contend, thirdly, that there is a pleasure, even 
in the most painful duties of religion, which exceeds 
the pleasures of sin ; and that there are resources of 
happiness in religion, of which the world cannot 
boast. To say the truth, there is no real happiness 
without it. To the ten thousand inquietudes of life, 
religion, and religion alone, affords a counterbalan- 
cing resource, to soothe and compose the holy soul. 

In the bequest which our Lord left to his followers, 
when he said, " Peace I leave with you, my peace I 
give unto you," we have an antidote to that corroding 
remorse, # which poisons, to the wicked, every comfort 
of life. O. what a luxury ! to carry with us at all 



70 



HAKRIS^S SERMONS 



times a peaceful conscience, and a sense of the divine 
favour ! — Pain then is sweet ! 

Again, how desirable to know (and none but the 
Christian can know it) that whatever we suffer ac- 
cording to the will of God, shall turn to our account : 
and that God renders the road to heaven so difficult, 
onlj to render our crown more brilliant. We know 
that all things work together for our good; and O how 
pleasant are the afflictions of the Christian, when he 
can view them as marks of the divine approbation ; 
and that the Lord is carrying him in the same road 
in which he carried his saints ; and is treating him as 
he formerly treated the upright. 

But I have not spoken of the sublime consolation 
which the holy soul feels, even while reading that 
book which promises him affliction and tears in this 
life ; while at the same time he has that faith which 
brings nigh to him eternity and immortal blessedness, 
and which will more than repay all the sufferings of 
this fleeting life. And tell me, if you can, what over- 
flowing joys exalt the soul of the humble believer, 
when in fervent prayer he takes hold on the truth 
and promise of the Eternal ! And how does the river 
of pleasures flow through his soul, when, in the mys- 
tery of the holy sacrament, he feasts on the love of 
his dying Redeemer ! And death, which is the most 
painful, is, at the same time, the most joyful circum- 
stance of his life : it cuts off, at a blow, all sorrow 
from his heart, and throws him, enraptured, into the 
bosom of his God. 

Having attempted to show that our disgust at 
religion is unreasonable, I shall conclude this dis- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



71 



course by a short address to two classes of people. 
First, those who never entered into the course of 
piety. Admitting that the path of religion is really 
as gloomy as you paint it, can the delay of your con- 
version sweeten the bitter potion of virtue ? The 
longer we stay away from God, the more invincible 
is the distaste we take to him. O what work has the 
heart which has always been engrossed by the world, 
in consecrating itself to God ! It is like a slave con- 
demned to search in the earth for treasures of gold 
amid opposing rocks. 

The Christian I address in the language of the 
Saviour : — " Will you also go away ?" You whom I 
have called, and distinguished by marks of affection, 
and to whom I have revealed the secrets of the other 
world, in which I design to crown you ? 



SERMON VI, 



This ts a faithful saying, and tvorthy of all acceptation* 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, 
1 Tim. i. 15. 

ESE words contain an epitome of the Gospel, 
Whatsoever we have received from God to deliver to 
you; whatsoever regards that mysterious plan of 
redemption, of which Jesus Christ is the glorious 
Author ; that redemption, whose generous object is 
justification, peace, and holiness here, and glory and 
beatitudethrough the mighty range of an all encir- 
cling eternity ; all is found in the abridged Gospel of 
the text. 

As ministers of the hope-inspiring Gospel, we con- 
ceive, that opening, explaining, and enforcing the 
peculiar doctrines of the text, is that by which we 
are principally distinguished from merely moral lec- 
turers ; who speak well indeed of virtue, but over- 
look the only foundation on which it cap be erected. 
Where is the wise ? Where is the scribe ? Where 
is the disputer of this world? What has their dry 
morality accomplished? Where is the nation whose 
principles and practice have been revolutionized 
by their harangues ? Where is the town or vil- 

4h 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 73 

lage from which wickedness has been expelled, by 
the utmost efforts of mere philosophy ? Where is the 
heart, which, apart from the Gospel, has attained to 
real peace, and the satisfactory assurance of a glori- 
ous immortality ? 

Surrounded by darkness as we are, in a state of 
nature ; bewildered in uncertainty, and torn by 
legion lusts and cruel sins, I hear the involuntary 
groan of the wretched sinner, who seeks in vain to 
satisfy himself with sin ; " Who will show me any 
good ?" I, says the blessed Jesus, I will show thee 
good ; I will do thee good. " Come unto me, all ye 
that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest." 

" My soul obeys the heavenly call, 
And runs to this relief." 

But will God indeed dwell with men ? Will Christ 
lay down his life for his enemies ? Yes, " he came to 
seek and to save that which was lost ; and he is able 
to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him." 

It has been said of the learned Athenians, that they 
spent much of their time in communicating, or hearing 
some new thing. This must have been an employ- 
ment unworthy of the talents and learning they pos- 
sessed ; for, in the mass of news that circulated 
among them, either a part must have been false, and 
therefore, not entitled to credit ; or all, even if true, 
could not have been interesting. But the glorious 
intelligence in the text is true, and firm as the broad 
pillars of the heavens and the earth, and challenges 
our utmost confidence. Nor is it one of thopp truths 

. 10 



74 



HARRISES SERMONS 



which frightens credence, by vouching the punitive 
justice of God ; like that which declares, that " the 
wicked shall be turned into hell, with all the nations 
that forget God." No, my brethren, it is one of those 
glorious truths which lays as great a claim to our 
gratitude, as to our faith. 

The apostle, in his holy revery, does not here 
start a new doctrine. The event of which he speaks 
liad been the focus where religious thought had cen- 
tred for ages. Deeply interested in the same event, 
" the prophets searched diligently what manner of 
time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did sig- 
nify, when it testified before-hand the sufferings of 
Christ, and the glory which should follow." 1 Pet. i. 
10, 11. The fulness of the time, however, had now 
come, and the glories of the Godhead had been 
vailed in humanity. John had borne witness to him, 
as the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the 
world ; and his testimony was confirmed by a solemn 
voice from heaven, " This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased." 

The apostle, however, did not rest his faith, 
entirely, on these testimonies to the incarnation of 
Christ ; but he seems to have had his faith led into 
captivity by the energetic grace which had already 
subdued the power of sin in his heart. " We speak 
that we do know ; and we know, by an inward con- 
sciousness which cannot deceive us, " I am the chief 
of sinners ;" but the power of Christ's Gospel has 
broken my chain, and made me the Lord's freedman. 
O ! it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation? 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



75 



You will bend your whole attention to what we 
shall say, while we make, 

I. Some observations on the condition of mankind ( 
by nature : — they are sinners. 

It will be proper, then, 

II. To speak of the design with which Christ came 
into the world ; namely, to save sinners. 

III. We shall then say something of the truth, 
worth, and excellency of the Gospel revelation. 

I. We are to make some observations on the condi- 
tion of mankind by nature. 

It is briefly stated in the text, that they are sinners ; 
that is, influenced by carnal and sinful inclinations, 
which they did not receive from God, but which are 
the effect of depravity. All men by nature are dis- 
posed to break God's holy laws, and to run counter 
to his will. Although this statement is confirmed by 
experience and observation, there are some who 
deny it altogether, and contend that man is now 
what he was when he came out of the hands of his 
Creator. They therefore reject the Saviour, and 
essay to stand before God on a footing of absolute 
righteousness. They pretend to acknowledge one 
God ; but, as for Jesus Christ, they say, with the Jews, 
« Away with him !f But for my own part, could I 
believe that men were originally what they are now ; 
so like a wild ass's colt, so stupid, so stubborn, so 
intractable, so prone to evil, so averse to good, no 
wiser or better than men are at present ; I could not 
go so far as the Deist : I must either be a Manichee 



76 



HARRIS S SERMONS 



or an Atheist ; I must either believe there is an evil 
God, or no God at all. 

Others are willing to admit, (when stated as a 
general proposition,) that men are sinners, and that 
they are weak creatures, standing in need of pity 
and comfort. But when we urge it as a truth, found- 
ed on the veracity of God, that they are miserable 
sinners, and obnoxious to the wrath of a holy and 
justly offended God, they are ready to turn a deaf 
ear to our doctrine. In short, my brethren, the views 
which the carnal mind takes of this subject, are 
clouded and indistinct; and but seldom is it seri- 
ously considered, what a prominent point the doc- 
trine of depravity presents, in the scheme of redemp- 
tion. 

It is not my design, at this time, to point to all the 
arguments furnished by reason, to prove this doc- 
trine : it is a truth, which may be seen and felt, and 
needs no foreign wisdom. Moreover, the united 
efforts of the Christian world to circulate the holy 
Scriptures, in connexion with the seal of God which 
is affixed to them, fully authorizes the minister of the 
Gospel to consider the Bible, (a book received and 
approved by the best sense of mankind,) as of 
Divine origin — as a standard of appeals: and we 
think ourselves on too high ground, to put the doc- 
trine of human depravity at issue before the tribu- 
nal of human reason. 

The Lord hath spoken; let the kings of the earth 
keep silence. " And God saw that the wickedness of 
man was great, and that every imagination of the 
thoughts of his heart was evil continually." — And 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



77 



again, " The heart of man is deceitful above all 
things, and desperately wicked." 

St. Paul, in a more refined age, gives us this piece 
of history relative to some of the most dignified of 
the Grecian philosophers : " Professing themselves to 
be wise, they became fools ; and changed the glory 
of the incorruptible God into an image made like 
to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed 
beasts, and creeping things." Rom. i. 22, 23. A 
certain writer wittily remarked, that every thing was 
worshipped as God, but God himself. 

Nor is man by nature less helpless than sinful ; for 
the law by which the Almighty designed to govern 
him, being once broken, could not be repaired, but 
by him who first gave it. It being infinite, man by his 
best obedience, even in his pure and perfect state, 
could never bring his Creator in debt to him, so as to 
claim salvation on the ground of merit : for he is the 
creature of God; his powers belong to his Maker, 
he owes him all the service he can perform. Man is 
a derived and dependant creature, and has nothing 
but what he has received. He cannot live without 
the supporting energy of God, and can return him 
.nothing that is not his own. Now, as we cannot pur- 
chase one part of a man's property, by giving him 
another part of his own property ; so we cannot pur- 
chase from God any thing that is his own, by that to 
which he has an equal claim. 

But consider man in his present circumstances, 
fallen from God, destitute of that image of God, 
righteousness and true holiness, in which he was 
created, and deeply guilty through innumerable 



78 Harris's sermons 

transgressions ; then hear him ask, How shall I be 
delivered from the power of sin, that it may no longer 
have dominion over me ? How shall I be delivered 
from the guilt of sin, that it may no longer oppress 
my tortured conscience ? How shall I be delivered 
from the pollution of sin, and be prepared for, and 
entitled to, everlasting glory ? The proper answer 
to these anxious questions, leads to the second thing 
which was proposed ; namely, 

II. The design with which Christ came into this 
world. 

This is briefly stated in the text : he came into the 
world to save sinners. His errand was an errand of 
mercy. He did not come to condemn the world, but 
that the world, through him, might be saved. In the 
salvation of the human soul, two attributes of God 
appear to be peculiarly exercised and harmonized, 
namely, his justice and his mercy; and, however 
opposite the claims of these two attributes may seem 
to mortals, through the atonement of Christ " God 
can be just, and yet the justifier of him that believeth 
in Jesus." His life was offered for the life of man ; 
and this was a sacrifice which God himself required : 
for Christ was considered the Lamb of God, which 
taketh away the sin of the world. He, as a sacrifice 
for sin, was the end of the law for righteousness — for 
justification — to every one that believeth. Through 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that alone, a sinner 
is saved from the power, guilt, and pollution of sin. 

This brings us to speak of the third thing pro- 
posed; namely, 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



79 



III. The truth, worth, and excellency of the Gos- 
pel revelation. 

The most compendious method to attain to a 
knowledge of Gospel truth, is to enter into it as a 
scheme or plan, and to obey its requisitions. "If 
any man will do his will, he shall know of the doc- 
trine," &c. But few systems of religion have been 
set on foot, that have not had some plausible argu- 
ments to establish their truth and excellence. But 
experiment and utility give their evidence in favour 
of the Christian system. Jesus Christ is a tried 
stone. Notice the effect that Christianity wrought 
in St. Paul, as one evidence, among many, of the truth 
and excellency of the Gospel. Contemplate, for a 
moment, the inveterate prejudices of his education, 
and the enmity he manifested against the Gospel and 
members of Jesus Christ. Inquire, next, what were 
the weapons with which this enmity was slain, and 
this prejudice removed. It was not " enticing words 
of man's wisdom," that effected the change ; but the 
mighty energy of Christ's own Gospel. His change 
was not the sickly qualm of fanaticism. He took but 
the two parts through life : that of Judaism, and that 
of Christianity. The one he defended, till slain by 
the sword of the Spirit : the other he defended, with 
all his might, from that time until his luminous sun 
set in blood, to rise again in glory. What but truth 
invincible, could have made a lamb of this lion ? It 
was not sophistical arguments by which he was con- 
vinced ; but the naked truth, attended by the Holy 
Spirit, found its way to his heart, and wrought the 
change. 



80 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 

The worth and excellence of religion may be seen? 
by contemplating that firmness and peace with which 
he met dangers and death. In stripes, bonds, and 
imprisonments, he was serene and unmoved; and his 
fortitude, which supported him in the trials of life, 
made him more than conqueror in the pains of mar- 
tyrdom. Religion, as a principle, is the same in all 
who possess it. St. Paul, though an illustrious pat- 
tern of godliness, was not the only person who has 
expressed a rational confidence in a dying hour. It 
is one of the principal characteristics of religion, that 
it tranquillizes the soul in life, and gives its possessor 
more than victory at death. 

Let me here inquire, whether you have ever atten- 
tively considered the subject of religion. If so, you 
must be convinced of its worth. Let me next ask, if 
you have embraced it ? It never was designed for 
mere speculation : and as it relates to you, Christ has 
died in vain, and the Gospel revelation is made in 
vain, unless you embrace it, and become a co-worker 
with the Holy Spirit. 

O brethren, shall we be amused with the trifles of 
life, and neglect this glorious news, that Christ Jesus 
came into the world to save sinners ! What must be 
our guilt, what must be our punishment! O how 
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation ! 



SERMON VII 

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels. Matt. xxv. 4 1 . 

Often have I lifted my warning voice among you, 
but never, to my recollection, did I ascend this pul- 
pit, with a mind so completely surcharged with un- 
utterable ideas, as at this time. It is not a darkened 
sun, nor a bloody moon, that overwhelms me — It is 
not a reeling earth, nor a roaring sea, that affrights 
me — No, it is not the aggravated roar of resounding 
thunders, nor yet the irresistible glare of all-conquer- 
ing fire, that convulses me. 1 have just heard — ah ! 
what did I hear ? I have just heard the voice of a 
God, the treasures of whose grace is quite exhausted. 
I have just heard the God of battle, whose love is 
turned into hate ; whose riches of grace are turned 
into treasures of wrath. By faith, I say, I have just 
heard this great arbiter of our destiny utter that 
curse against the vessels of wrath, who have fitted 
themselves for destruction ; which, whilst it admits of 
no mitigation or repeal, consigns them to the unima- 
ginable agonies of eternal damnation. Unhappy 
man that I am, I have taken the children's bread, and 

11 



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cast it to dogs ; I have poured forth, in strains of godly 
eloquence, to an unheeding multitude, the alluring 
calls of Christ's glorious Gospel, whilst my fruit has 
been but as the gleaning of the vintage. It seems as 
though God's word has as yet returned empty ; and, 
like the old prophet, I now enquire, " Who hath 
believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the 
Lord revealed ?" Should I be considered an unjust 
censor, if I were to state my fears, that there are 
many present who are carnal and unconverted, and 
consequently enemies to God? To such it seems 
almost unnecessary to say any thing by way of exhor- 
tation : efforts of this kind have long been beggared, 
and we appear to have arisen, once more, only to 
inscribe the epitaph of your privileges, and the date 
which at once points to the end of your joys, and the 
beginning of your wo. Then shall he say also unto them 
on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. 

I. I design to speak, first, of the certainty of hell 
torments; and, 

II. Of their greatness, and wherein the greatness 
of them will consist : . 

III. Of their eternity. 

These doctrines seem to be clearly implied in the 
text. 

I. And, first, I design to speak something of the 
certainty of hell torments. Then shall he (Christ, the 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



83 



Judge of the world) say to them on the left hand, (the 
wicked) Depart from me, ye cursed, &c. 

It is commonly thought sufficient, if the minister of 
the Gospel adduce clear and plain Scripture to 
prove his doctrine : indeed the word of God is a 
standard, from which there is no appeal. But since 
i there are some who are not entirely satisfied with 
Scripture authorities, we design, first, to give the evi- 
dence of nature and reason on this important article 
of our holy religion, before we appeal to the irresis- 
tible authority of the sacred Scriptures ; that thus, 
" becoming all things to all men," we may at least 
save some, and at the same time, show the harmony 
subsisting between the word of God, and the princi- 
ples of nature and reason. 

An argument, of no inconsiderable force, to prove 
the certainty of future punishments, arises from the 
universal testimony of mankind, that is, the concur- 
rence of all nations in the belief of this truth. This 
we call the argument of nature ; and this, by the glim- 
mering light of antiquity, we may read in the most 
obsolete pages of the history of man, whether sacred 
or profane. Although its notices are not very clear, 
irom the fall of Adam to the settlement of the Jew- 
ish nation ; yet their tradition assures us, that they 
were impressed with a belief of future rewards and 
punishments. And in their Talmud and Targums, 
says Bishop Dawes, as well as from the particular 
acknowledgment of their most ancient and respecta- 
ble Rabbins, we learn that they did explicitly believe, 
that there is a hell to punish the wicked in the next 
life. Hence, when our Saviour talked to the Jews 



8£ 



Harris's sermons 



about hell, they did not express any surprise, or any 
disposition to contradict, except the sect of the Saddu- 
cees, who taught that there was neither angel nor 
spirit. And it is well known, that the Jews, at pre- 
sent, make the belief of future punishments a neces- 
sary article of their creed ; and as they are very 
tenacious of the traditions of their forefathers, there 
is no doubt that, in this particular thing, they follow 
their faith. 

As to the pagans, they seem evidently to testify 
their belief of future punishment for the wicked. 
Hence the repeated sacrifices which they offered to 
the infernal gods, joined with prayer to them, that 
they would be kind and propitious to their departed 
friends. With this sentiment Plutarch addressed a 
consolatory letter to his wife on the death of his little 
innocent daughter, and informed her, that there was 
no need -to offer sacrifice to the gods on her account, 
because so sweet and innocent a child was gone to a 
better and a diviner state. This doctrine was taught 
by the Brahmins of India ; by the Magi of Persia ; by 
the Druids of Gaul; and in the colleges of Egypt. 
And it is evident, that the popular mythology of 
Greece and Rome contained the elements of a truth 
so grand and interesting, in the tribunal of Minos ; 
in the happy fields of Elysium, the seat of perpetual 
delights to pure and innocent souls; and in the 
dreadful abyss of Tartarus, its wheels, its vultures, 
its flames, and avenging furies, that were supposed to 
persecute the guilty. 

Moreover, a sense of right and wrong is implanted 
in the breast of every human being. The good man is 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



85 



no stranger to the smiles of an approving conscience ; 
while, to the guilty, it often appears like a boding 
spectre, which points him to that punishment with 
which God has threatened the impenitent. Has God 
formed the nature of man with no design; and are 
all his feelings but the artful springs of a delusive 
mechanism? No, my brethren — Every original senti- 
ment of human nature points to truth ; and, when pro- 
perly analyzed, is what the apostle denominates, the 
work of the law written on men's hearts. 

But it is reasonable to believe, that there is a hell 
to punish the wicked. For, first, God has made man 
an accountable and punishable being, and has given 
him a law by which to govern himself: a law of 
which he cannot be ignorant. God has left him at 
liberty, moreover, to act according to his own will : 
to choose or refuse ; to obey or disobey this law ; so 
that his transgression of it must be voluntary, or of 
choice : this is the very constituent of sin. Now, 
according to the perfections of God, it is impossible 
that sin should go unpunished; for if God for one' 
moment should cease to be opposed to sin, he would 
that moment cease to be God. In many instances 
God shows his disapprobation of sin, and inflicts 
capital punishment on some sinners, even in this life 
None are presumptuous enough to doubt his ability 
thus to punish all sinners : but many, we know, are 
scarcely punished here at all; and those who are 
punished most, suffer vastly beneath the demerit of 
their crimes, and none in any proportion to them. 
From this we are surely at liberty to infer, that God 
has reserved some other time and place, and that is 



Harris's sermons 



the next life, where these things shall be adjusted, his 
honour fully vindicated, and the measure of his ene* 
mies' punishment filled up. 

But I will now appeal to the irresistible authoritj 
©f the sacred Scriptures. If thy hand, or foot, or 
eye, offend thee, cut it off, or pluck it out ; for it is 
better to do so, than having two of each, to be cast 
into hell fire. In the Psalms it is said, " the wicked 
shall be turned into hell;" and, speaking of the 
judgment, Christ saith, " The son of man shall send 
forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his king- j 
dom all things that offend, and.Jthem which do 
iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire ; 
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." And, 
as in the text, Then shall he say unto them on the left 
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
prepared for the devil and his angels. How awful is 
the certainty of that vengeance which God shall 
inflict on the contemners of his grace, when the 
fire which is kindled in his anger, shall burn to the 
lowest hell ! 

We proceed to speak, as was proposed, 

II. Of the greatness of hell torments, and whereiia 
their greatness will consist. 

Then shall he also say, Go, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire. Those who are able to form any sort of correct 
ideas of the divine nature and majesty, will not find 
it difficult to believe, that sin is very inexcusable and 
aggravating, and that it will receive the most sore and 
dreadful punishment, Plato, a pagan philosopher 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



87 



had a view of this; and, in the person of one who is 
supposed to have seen hell, and afterward returned to 
this world, he tells us the dreadful spectacles he 
saw : — men tortured in innumerable forms ; some in 
rivers of fire ; some shivering and freezing with ex- 
cessive cold; and others thrown upon thorns, or 
mangled by wild beasts. These ideas, though extra- 
vagant, contain, at bottom, the native idea of the divine 
vengeance which the wicked shall experience. In 
Scripture we find the same idea perfected. The 
doom of the rebellious angels; of Sodom and 
Gomorrah, and of the old world ; are instances of 
the terror of God's wrath, and tokens of the great- 
ness of future torment for the wicked. 

But in what shall that greatness consist ? They see 
themselves separated from God, and surrounded with 
fire. Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. Here seems 
to be a double punishment — They see themselves 
separated from the God of heaven. What is it to be 
separated from God ? Alas ! who can comprehend 
this dreadful phrase, separated from God ! Deprived 
of God ! O horrid reflection ! — the privation of God ! 
The greatest good man can enjoy in this life, is to 
have God for his portion. — The moment God shall 
say, Depart, ye cursed, there shall be no more commu 
nication between reprobate souls and God for ever ; 
but a separation shall ensue, as complete and irre- 
vocable, as if God should say, You wished there were 
no God ; and no God shall you have ; you would not 
seek God, and now you shall seek him to no purpose ; 
you would not know your God ; your God you never 
shall see or know. God will renounce them in 



88 



Harris's sermons 



quality of a father, friend, and protector; and know 
them only as a judge, avenger, and enemy. Where- 
fore, the damned will be doubly unhappy ; because 
God will not only be no longer favourable and pro- 
pitious to them, but also declared and armed against 
them. After this it would seem almost useless to 
expatiate on the sensible pains with which this sepa- 
ration from God shall be accompanied ; such as a 
remembrance of the good things they have enjoyed, 
of the grace they abused, and of the supreme excel- 
lence and eternal good, of which they are for ever 
deprived. 

It appears to me, my brethren, that there is no 
need of any devil, to make hell a scene of torment: 
each unhappy soul will find a sufficient tormentor in 
the guilt of his own crimes which he brought with 
him thither. His abominable impurities — his enor- 
mous injustice — his profanation of holy things — his 
contempt of the Supreme Being — his rancour and 
animosity — his hypocritical artifices — his dark de- 
signs and insidious calumnies; and many other 
iniquities, which it is beyond my power to reckon up, 
will besiege him, will seize upon him, and burn him 
with the most inexpressible anguish. His misery 
will be completed by despair of ever feeling the di- 
vine clemency. This leads to the third thing to be 
considered : 

III. The eternity of hell torments. 

It is natural to look to futurity for comfort and 
relief, under any present distress. Hope is an ano- 
dyne, that alleviates the pain with which we are 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



89 



oppressed. If circumstances are ever so unfavour- 
able, we nevertheless persuade ourselves that all our 
present ills will have a termination ; and the uncer- 
tainty of future contingencies enables us sometimes 
to hope for objects which we have no reason to ex- 
pect. Not so, however, with the lost. They suffer 
without any expectation of better days. They are 
in an actual, and everlasting state of desperation, 
That which exists, torments them the more, because 
they know it shall never cease to exist. O for a 
little respite, a little mitigation of these pains ! — This 
is the language of a reprobate soul. But, God shall 
answer, Of what avail are these plaints? They 
strike my ears, but they reach not my heart — no 
remedy, no redress ! — And would you know the rea- 
son ? Because I called a thousand, and a thousand 
times, and ye refused • you wilfully and outrageously 
held out against my grace ; now will I laugh at your 
calamity : and though you should mourn, and groan* 
and repent to all eternity, it is of no avail. There is 
a gulf fixed between you and me. 

To some it may be incomprehensible, that sin, 
which is but momentary, should be punished eter- 
nally. To such I would observe, if the act of sin be 
momentary, in the disposition of the sinner, there is 
a secret will to be for ever a sinner. He wishes to 
live, only to enjoy those things which minister to sin, 
and foment the passions ; the necessary proportion, 
therefore, is observed between the eternity of their 
pains, and the malignity of their hearts. In this life, 
by grace, a man may repent and satisfy God, but 

12 



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without repentance there is no remission of sin- 
Now, as it is impossible to attain evangelical repen- 
tance in hell, the punishment there must consequent- 
ly be eternal. Such are the arguments we would 
advance from reason, if we were deprived of the 
unerring light of Revelation. But, as the truth of 
revelation, I presume, is admitted in this assembly, 
you will listen to its awful testimony. Depart, ye 
mrsed, into everlasting fire : and again, " there the 
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched ;" and 
again, " the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for 
ever and ever." 

My brethren, do we believe there is a hell, into 
which the wicked shall certainly be turned? What is 
it then ; is it inadvertence, is it madness, is it en- 
chantment, which keeps us from labouring to shun it? 
Every impenitent sinner is in the ready way to this 
dreadful place : every prayerless soul, every Sabbath- 
breaker, swearer, liar, drunkard and defrauder. And 
O how great will your misery be ! Are your bones 
brass ? Is your flesh iron ? Can you consent to lie 
down in everlasting burnings ? O will you persist in 
sin, and brave the consequences ? Do you provoke 
the Lord to jealousy ? Are you stronger than he ? 
O how corroding will be your reflections, when you 
shall say, " I am tormented in this flame." Will you 
vainly think that you shall suffer awhile, and then 
come out ? Hear the text again : Go, ye cursed, into 
everlasting fire. If I am importunate with you, it is 
for your good : danger awaits you — hell is before the 
sinner. You may escape, if you will Christ now 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



91 



invites you, and offers you his grace ; if you will, you 
may accept it; if not, you must perish, and I am 
clear of your blood. 



SERMON VIII. 



For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not 
down first, mid counteth the cost whether he have suffi- 
cient to finish it ? Lest haply, after he hath laid the 
foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it 
begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and 
was not able to finish. Luke xiv. 28, 29, 30. 

I THINK it may be assumed as a truth beyond all 
possibility of successful contradiction, that there is 
no pursuit of life equal in importance to that of the 
salvation of the soul. He who was God, as well as 
man, and possessed of infinite wisdom, while on earth 
asked, " what it should profit a man, if he should 
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?" There 
is no answer recorded to this question : indeed, an 
answer was not necessary, for it admits but of one. 
All men, who think at all, must think alike on this sub- 
ject. Tell me, then, according to the sanctions of 
common sense, if that man, who merges all prospect 
of a happy immortality in the pursuit of the shadowy 
and transitory objects of this life, does not act un- 
wisely ? It would be well not to suffer this question 
'to pass unnoticed. My brethren, if angels could 



Harris's sermons on important subjects, 93 

weep, I am persuaded they would drop a tear for a 
person of this description. 

But are these the only characters who call for 
commiseration ? Are they the only persons who shall 
miss salvation ? Does the buckling on of armour 
entitle a man to the character of real bravery, so 
much as fighting valiantly, and conquering his anta- 
gonist ? Does one single step in the course of righ- 
teousness, ensure a man the prize of glory ? If so, 
why have we an account of so many, whose carcasses 
fell in the wilderness? Why do we hear of the apos- 
tacy of Judas and Demas ? And why is the case of 
the young man mentioned, who came to our Lord (as 
it appears) with pious intent ; who nevertheless went 
away sorrowful, after he heard the terms of disci- 
pleship. 

But wherefore is it, that many even of those who 
start for heaven, and make great pretensions to re- 
ligion, afterward turn back, like certain disciples 
spoken of in the Gospel ; who, having heard Jesus 
declare what it would cost them to follow him, went 
back, and walked no more with him ? I say, whence 
is it that so many act thus ? Is it because the preach- 
ers of salvation have used deception, and with 
enticing words have made them proselytes, keeping 
out of sight the afflictions of the people of God ? 
We are prepared to state, that a mode of conduct, 
entirely different from this, has been pursued, first by 
Christ, and then by his ministers How often did the 
blessed Jesus, whose kingdom was not of this world— 
the blessed Jesus, who had not a place where to lay 
his head — declare to his disciples the difficulties 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



which they would have to surmount in the Christian 
course ? He assured them that they should be per- 
secuted, and hated of all men* And how did St. 
Paul bear his testimony to the same truth, when he 
affirmed, that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus, 
shall suffer persecution ? Nor has any of the inspired 
characters attempted to keep the sufferings of 
Christ's people out of sight. It would seem, at first 
view, that they were rather exaggerated, than dimi- 
nished. " Others (says St. Paul) had trials of cruel 
mockings and scourgings ; yea, moreover, of bonds 
and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were 
sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the 
sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and 
goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented, they 
wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, 
and caves of the earth." No man, surely, will dare 
to say, that craft has been used in this way, by dis- 
playing the fairest side of religion, while the diffi- 
culties have been kept out of sight. 

Let us then recur to the inquiry we have already 
made. Why have so many, who had enlisted under 
the Captain of their salvation, deserted the colours 
of the cross in so short a time ? Have they found out, 
by an experience of religion, that it is not worth 
their attention ? Have they found out, that hell is a 
more comfortable place than Jesus Christ described 
it ? H ave they found out, that a guilty conscience 
and a wounded spirit may easily be borne ? Have 
they found out, that heaven is a trifling toy, not wor- 
thy to be compared to a few moments of pleasurable 
sin ? I have seen none, who pretend to offer excuses 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



like these, for leaving the paths of religion. Why 
then are we deserted by so many, who ran well for a 
season ? Why did they start at first ; or why, having 
started, did they not hold out to the end ? It seems 
to me, my brethren, that since the fall, we have lost 
the balance of our mind, and frequently our passions 
are too strong for our reason ; and as it was in the 
days of our Saviour, so is it now ; we hear the word 
with joy, but not forming our calculations aright, in 
time of persecution and conflict we fall away. Our 
Lord, in the words of our text, intimates that it is 
necessary for those who would be religious, seriously 
and deliberately to weigh the difficulties and dan- 
gers, before they embark in his cause ; lest, after 
making a profession of religion, they should expose 
themselves to contempt, and bring heavier ruin upon 
their souls by drawing back to perdition. And this 
he illustrates by a comparison. A man, says he, who 
acts wisely, before he begins to build a tower, or 
dwelling-house, (for " according to the Asiatic man- 
ner, battlements were built on the tops of houses? 
both to take the fresh air, and to serve for refuge and 
defence against an enemy : it was also used for 
prayer and meditation,") would first sit down and 
make an estimate of the expense; lest otherwise, 
embarking in a work for which his resources are not 
sufficient, the unfinished ruins should expose him to 
contempt. It is not my design to strain every part of 
the comparison, but merely to apply it to the use for 
which it was intended ; which was, to give a view of 
the necessity of deep forethought on the subject of 
religion. 



96 



Harris's sermon's 



Is it fancy, or do I perceive the countenances of 
some to brighten ? My ears have been unused, says 
one, to hear any thing from our present speaker, so 
congenial with my own views. I have no notion of 
seeing persons too precipitate in religious pursuits. 
If I ever begin a religious course, I think that I shall 
hold out to the end. To such an one I would offer 
my own opinion. Although, like you, I love to see 
persons count the cost, I yet deem it extremely un- 
safe for them to take up too much time about it. 
And so thought Joshua ; for when some of the Israel- 
ites seemed dilatory in perfecting the decision of 
their minds, he chided with them for their delay, 
where so many circumstances conspired to accele- 
rate the reckoning. How much time, my brethren, 
is necessary to enable a man to form an opinion on 
the subject of religion ? I have asked this question, 
but I think it does not admit of a definite answer: 
with some more time is necessary than with others. 
If, for instance, a man who has not been blessed with 
a religious education, would turn his attention to the 
subject of religion, and would wish to examine it 
before he embraces it; he will certainly require 
more time to collect the evidences of Christianity, 
and become a sound believer, than he who has been 
trained to the contemplation of those evidences from 
early youth. 

But it seems to me that our Saviour assumed the 
truth of his religion, and that his principal object 
was to guard his followers, and those who should 
thereafter wish to follow him, from being turned out 
of the way by his cross. To this end he recommended 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 91' 

a »ystematical forethought, conducted on the prin- 
ciples of arithmetical calculation. This, my bre- 
thren, although it may appear to be something new, is, 
I think, a correct view of the subject You have 
been for some time perplexed in making out your 
reckoning about the cross : I will, by the help of 
God, and your permission, strive to work the sum for 
you. But, first of all, let us state it fairly. And, 
first, God created man, and made him pure and up- 
right, Gen. i. 27. " So God created man in his own 
image." Again, when God created man, he endowed 
him with agency, and entered into covenant with him, 
prohibiting the tree of knowledge as a test of obe- 
dience : 44 In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
surely die." Man broke the covenant of his God, 
became a sinner, and liable to the penalty of the 
law, which was death : " For by one man sin entered 
into the world, and death by sin." The loss of natu- 
ral life is not the principal thing intended here, but 
the loss of spiritual life, and of all title to eternal 
happiness. In this deplorable situation God took 
pity on man, and, through free love, sent his Son to 
die for him : 44 For God so loved the world, that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
This Saviour is the only foundation of our salvation, 
- 4 For other foundation can no man lay than that is 
laid, which is Jesus Christ." Again, though Christ 
is able to save to the uttermost, he saves none but 
44 such as come to him :" the will of God and the will 
of man must concur in the salvation of a sinner. 
He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved, 

13 



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and he that believeth not, shall be damned.' 5 Here 
is the sum—man was lost ; Christ has come to seek 
and to save him ; but saves him as an agent. Christ 
has laid the foundation, and given him the means 
wherewith to raise the tower of salvation. 

We will now proceed to make our calculation of 
the cost requisite to complete the building. And 
here we will stop one minute to explain the nature 
of the Christian salvation. We are not to regard it 
as an arbitrary thing. By this I would have you to 
understand, that it is impossible but that salvation 
should include true holiness, and exclude all carna- 
lity and sin. God does not require us to perform the 
duties of religion, merely to torment us ; but, accord- 
ing to the immutability of his nature, and the eternal 
fitness of things, it is impossible that a man can be 
happy in the next world, who is not holy in this. 
The Christian salvation consists in imbibing the spi- 
rit of Christ, and following his example. Now, it is 
said in Holy Writ, "love not the world, nor the 
things of the world" — " for all that is in the world, 
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the 
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the 
world." From this you may see, that to be religious 
will cost you the world. But what do you mean by 
that ? I mean that you are to live in the spirit of 
separation from the world : 1 mean that you are to 
renounce its false pleasures, its profane joys, its 
criminal intrigues, the luxury, the pastimes, the folly, 
the customs, and the evil practices of the world ; all 
that is calculated to foment the passions, and nourish 
the dissoluteness of the world. I would not havr 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



99. 



you to understand that a Christian is to hold no inter- 
course with the world : but you are, by your example, 
to give them a notion of the religion which you pro- 
fess. In leaving the world you will irritate its spirit, 
and it will load you with reproach ; but if you would 
be a Christian, you must suffer persecution. If any 
man come unto me, and hate not his father, and 
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and 
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my 
disciple." That is, if their opinion come in contact 
with the duties of religion, unless we disoblige them 
to obey Christ, we are none of his. We may expect, 
my brethren, that the children of the bond-woman 
will persecute the children of the free. Let me 
assure you, that you will have to build the tower of 
salvation, like the children of Israel built the walls of 
Jerusalem, working with one hand, and holding the 
weapon of your warfare in the other. This spirit of 
persecution will be manifested under one form or 
other. Formerly it bound its victim to the stake, or 
shut him up in prison; but although persecution no 
longer takes away life, still it discovers its hatred to 
the followers of Christ in different ways. "I am 
come," says Christ, " to set a man at variance against 
his father, and the daughter against her mother, and 
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law : and 
a man's foes shall be those of his own household.^ 
This seems strange ; but it is impossible that it should 
be otherwise, unless all embrace religion : for those 
who do not, will suffer their enmity to show itself 
either in anger or ridicule. 



100 



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Again, in counting the cost, it will be well to re- 
member, that it will cost you your self-will. The 
word of God effects but little, till it cqrf^Jpwn ima- 
ginations, and every high thing that e^alteth itself 
against the knowledge of Christ. Like him who sus- 
tained the agony in the garden, your temper must be 
expressed in these words : " nevertheless, not my 
will, but thine be done." Ah ! my brethren, here 
you will find a struggle. In addition to this, you will 
have to apply yourselves to the duties of religion, 
redeeming the time, and working out your salvation 
with fear and trembling; repenting, praying, acting 
faith, watching, fasting, fighting, running, striving, 
pressing, agonizing to enter in at the strait gate- 
What do you think of trying to get to heaven on 
these terms ? I wait for an answer* O, says one, 
it will not do ; I never can stand it ; I cannot give up 
the world for religion. O my friend, my friend, what 
hast thou said ? I know that religion is true, and that 
without it I must be miserable through all eternity ; 
but the cross is so great, rather than bear it, I will 
consent to lie down in everlasting burnings. How 
will one moment's torment make you see and feel the 
folly of your choice ! Yea, the prospect of hell, when 
on your dying bed, shall declare your madness and 
presumption. But, says one — my friend, I am almost 
disposed to be a Christian. O may my God help you 
to be altogether a Christian ! What shall I say to 
turn the scale in favour of religion. Think not that 
the frowns of the world will be so very terrible, when 
you will have, at the same time, the support of an, 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



102 



approving conscience, and the love and smiles of 
Christ. Think not that you will regret the loss of 
the world so much as you fear, when, in its place, you 
shall have a joyful assurance of an inheritance laid 
up in heaven, incomparably more valuable than the 
riches of both the Indies. Think not that the duties 
of religion will be irksome, when you have the spirit 
of Christ, and enjoy constant communion with him. 
Be not affrighted at difficulties, when God has pro- 
mised to be with you in six troubles, and said, " in 
seven I will not leave thee.' 9 Take the example oi 
gaints, and may God prosper you! 



Ml 



SERMON IX. 



— 

For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to 
be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know 
how to abound: every where, and in all things, I am in- 
structed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound 
and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ 
which strengthened me. Phil. iv. 11, 12, 13. 

It is an acquisition of no inconsiderable worth, to 
be able to view, at all times, all the various circum- 
stances of our outward condition with perfect cool- 
ness ; and to have courage to perform every duty 
which the most enlightened conscience enjoins. If 
we contemplate ourselves as dwelling beneath the 
planets, 

{t The baleful influence of whose giddy dance, 
Sheds sad vicissitude on all beneath 

if we consider that the most apparently trivial cir- 
cumstance is quite sufficient to obstruct the current of 
our delight, while at the same time we are the sport 
of ten thousand evils; how valuable must that 
science be, by which we are taught, not only to look 
with composure at the black blast of adversity, but 
^von to obtain tribute from our hardest trials. More- 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 103 



over, when we take into view the difficulty of per- 
forming our duties, and remember how closely our 
duty and happiness stand connected ; how precious is 
that assistance which is communicated from Christ, 
the Captain of our salvation, by which we are 
enabled to " subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, 
obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quenc.h the 
violence of fire, wax valiant in fight, put to flight the 
armies of the aliens and, in one word, do all things* 
But who is sufficient for these things ? Does the phi- 
losopher affect this science ? his armour is quite too 
large for him. He may, indeed, in some sort, divest 
himself of passion, but his temper becomes austere 
and unamiable ; and if he be unmoved by the in- 
terests of the world, he is also negligent of its decen- 
cies. If he be not discomposed by the injuries of 
men, he enters not, with sympathetic warmth, into 
their social pleasures. Bow, philosophy, bow to thy 
superior, religion. She, indeed, blends the warmth 
of affection, and the sweetness of temper, with the 
firmest fortitude in affliction ; and sheds on her cheer- 
ful votaries a saintly dignity, which raises them 

"Above the common walks of life, 
Quite to the verge of heaven." 

— There Paul, there was thy citizenship. 

My brethren, whatever is excellent in the whole 
science of salvation, is found in these words. Here 
is contentment, exemplified by Saint Paul. Let ue 
attend to it for a moment. What is contentment, in a 
religious sense ? It is a holy acquiescence, without 
plenary satisfaction, relative to the dispensations of 



104 



HARRISES SERMONS 



Providence : an acquiescence, however, which arisen 
not from indolence. There are certain conditions of 
life, in which contentment w r ould be a crime ; as for 
instance, if my conduct be such as the word of God 
condemns, contentment, in that case, would be but as 
the fatal calm which precedes a storm. If, moreover, 
(which is more connected with the subject) I am 
plunged into poverty by my own indolence ; if I am 
likely to suffer for the necessaries of life, because I 
am too lazy to labour for them, and would rather 
trust to begging, than to betake myself to a course of 
reasonable exertions ; to be content in this condition, 
argues the greatest ignorance of the nature of re- 
ligion, which forbids negligence in business, and en- 
joins perseverance and industry. 

Christian contentment can only spring from a con- 
sciousness of our discharge of duty, and a firm per- 
suasion of the wisdom and goodness of God ; who will, 
though we should be brought into ways, the end of 
which we cannot see, make a way for our escape in 
every time of trial. Our Lord told Peter, when he was 
about to wash that disciple's feet, " what I do, thou 
knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." John 
xiii. 7. This is sufficient to satisfy the contented Chris- 
tian. St. Peter gives us an excellent view of this evan- 
gelic temper, when he says, " wherefore let them that 
suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping 
of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful 
Creator." 1 Pet. iv. 19. It appears plainly, from the 
foregoing remark, that contentment implies a cheerful 
willingness, both to strand to do the will of God. 
I have learned in ivhatsoever state I am, therewithfto be con- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



105 



mt. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to 
bound : every where, and in all things, I am instructed, 
oth to be full, and to be hungry ; both to abound, and to 
iffer need:" this is suffering the will of God. And he 
moreover adds, / can do all things through Christ which 
strengthened me : this is doing the will of God. 

The apostle gives us to understand, that this holy 
resignation was not natural, but superinduced : I have 
learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I 
know both hoiv to be abased, and I know how to abound. 
What is it to know how to be abased ? It is to sus- 
tain the infirmities of life, and not to suffer the spirit 
to sink in the day of adversity. It is a disposition of 
mind, resulting from a firm persuasion, that whatever 
we meet with, is from the hand of God, and that 
whatever we part from, is but a perishing creature ; 
and that God is able to restore all lost comforts to us 
with increase, or supply their place with the diviner- 
delight of Christian resignation, or the holy quiet of 
inward peace, by which the soul is enabled to say, I 
know that my Redeemer liveth : to him have I com- 
mitted the keeping of my soul, and, " though he 
slay me, yet will I trust in him ;" " yea, though 1 walk 
through the valley and shadow of death, I will fear 
no evil ; thy rod and thy staff, they shall comfort me." 
/ know how to be abased. 

But he knew that which is still harder to know. 
I know how to abound. There are more duties, and 
harder duties, required of those that abound than 
of those that want ; and the rich have more and 
stronger temptations than the poor. Hence, if 
"riches increase, set not thy heart upon them''* 

14 



J 06 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



&i When thou art full, then beware lest thou forg 
the Lord thy God, and thy heart be lifted uj 
44 How hardly shall they that have riches enter h 
the kingdom of heaven." To know how to abou: 
is the same as to know how to set a due value 
the things of the world. When a man so uses 
abundance as to avoid the temptations which ac- 
company that abundance; and when he is willing 
to part with all at the call and command of God ; 
in a word, when he attends more to almsgiving and 
the duties of his station, than to the sensual plea- 
sures and satisfactions of his prosperous condition. 

Every where and in all things, I am instructed both 
to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer 
need. We see here the advantage of Christian expe- 
rience : every where, and in all things I am instructed, 
&c. The Christian does not suffer so many things in 
vain : so far from it, he glories in tribulation, " know- 
ing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience 
experience, and experience hope." Rom. v. 3, 4. 

The lesson of true resignation is very hard to 
learn ; but, blessed be God, in the school of Christ 
we may learn it. I gain knowledge by seeing others 
in prosperity. When I see their heads become 
giddy, I then think, how good it is to stand in a low- 
place. When I lost my estate, I then learned not to 
trust in uncertain riches. When I lost my hus- 
band, wife, or child, 1 then learned the vanity and 
instability of all earthly good. So that, though the 
chastisement was not joyous, but grievous, at the 
time of its occurrence : I now realize its advanta- 
ges, so that I can well say, with the Psalmist, " fee* 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 107 

fore I was afflicted, I went astray, but now "have I 
kept thy word." "It is good for me that I have been 
afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." 

Christian contentment also implies a willingness to 
do the will of God. 1 can, saith the apostle, do all 
things through Christ which strengthened me. A real 
Christian is able to do all things that concern the 
glory of God, and his soul's salvation. This is evi- 
dently the meaning of the passage ; for the apostle 
could not intend to say, he could do all things which 
require physical strength. Now, the glory of God 
implies the complete destruction of sin. " For this 
purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he 
might destroy the works of the devil," 1 John iii. 8. 
Again, " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear 
much fruit," John xv. 8. Such being the object of 
Christ's mission, namely, to destroy the works of the 
devil, or in other words, sin : he, moreover, being 
glorified in the body and soul of the Christian who 
bears much fruit, the words of the apostle are tanta- 
mount to these : by the grace of God, however inve- 
terate the disease of sin may be, I and all Christians, 
by a thorough application of the blood of Christ, 
may be entirely cleansed from the leprosy of sin ; 
and cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 
and spirit, may perfect holiness in the fear of God. 

A Christian can love the whole law, and pay obe- 
dience to it in an evangelical sense ; else why is Abra- 
ham proposed as a pattern of our faith and conduct, 
and the friend of God. "Abraham obeyed God. 
and it was accounted to him for righteousness." A 
Christian can live above the world, and overcome it ; 



108 



Harris's sermons 



else why does St. John say, " this is the victory that 
overcome th the world, even our faith." I can deny 
myself, take up my cross, and follow Christ; else 
why is this made the condition of my salvation; and 
why is Moses spoken of, as a pattern of believers ; 
where it is said, that through respect to the recom- 
pense of reward, he denied himself of the pleasures 
of sin, and chose to suffer affliction with the people 
of God ? In short, I can love the Lord my God with 
all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and my neigh- 
bour as myself; else why is this made the very 
essence of both the law, the prophets, yea, and the 
Gospel also ? 

Now, if I can keep the commandments ; (and who 
dare say that I cannot, if I am converted to God, or 
have a new heart !) if I can deny myself, and bear 
the cross ; if I can overcome the world, because he 
that is in me is greater than he that is in the world ; 
if I can love God, who is the most excellent being in 
the universe, with the greatest ardour of my heart ; 
if I can become destitute of all improper selfish- 
ness ; who dare say, that I cannot do all things that 
relate to the glory of God, and my own salva- 
tion ? Who dare say, that I cannot work out my sal- 
vation with fear and trembling, and perfect holiness 
in the fear of God, through Christ, which strength- 
ened me ? O the length, and breadth, and depth, 
and height of the love of God ! Does sin cleave to 
our words? Are we the sport of passion? Does 
pride swell our hearts ? Does the love of the world 
rule in us ? Put forth thy withered hand : dip thy- 
self again in Jordan. Sin shall not have dominion 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



109 



over you. Jesus Christ will cleanse thy heart ; for 
this is the will of God, even our perfection. 

But let us remember, it is Christ that strength- 
ened St. Paul ; and it is through him alone that we 
are to overcome. " Without me," says Christ, 44 ye 
can do nothing." He is Alpha and Omega : to his 
name the praise belongs, and he shall have all the 
glory to eternity. Say, Christian, have you learned 
the contentment which springs not from apathy, but 
from a firm reliance on the providence of him who 
has said, " I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 11 
Happy scholar, if thou hast learned thy lesson, for 
thou art then acquainted with the whole science of 
salvation. If otherwise, begin to learn just now : it 
is requisite to your eternal peace, as well as your 
present happiness. 



SERMON X. 



Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling : for 
it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of 
his good pleasure. Phil. ii. 12, 13. 

In these words the Holy Spirit teaches us the doc- 
trine of divine grace, and that of human agency. 
And it is only by a connected view of both these 
scriptural doctrines, that we are preserved from pre- 
sumption, on the one hand, and despair on the other. 
If God, for instance, had merely proclaimed his own 
grace, without issuing any commands to mankind, 
it would have been needless for us to use any efforts. 
Our case would then have resembled that of the 
Israelites upon the banks of the Red Sea, when the 
injunction was given to them, " Fear ye not, stand 
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will 
show you to-day. The Lord shall fight for you, and 
ye shall hold your peace." Exod. xiv. 13, 14. 

If, again, practical exhortations had been issued, 
without any revelation of the grace of God; our 
language would have resembled that of the Philis- 
tines, when the ark of God was brought into their 
camp : " Wo unto us ! who shall deliver us out of the 
hands of these mighty gods?" 1 Sam. iv. 8. But 



HARRISES SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 111 



unite the two doctrines, and the sentiments and feel- 
ings of a Christian become, like those of Hezekiah, 
when he gathered the captains of war together, and 
spake comfortably unto them, saying, 44 Be strong and 
courageous, be not afraid for the king of Assyria, 
nor for all the multitude that is with him. With him 
is an arm of flesh ; but with us is the Lord our God, 
to help us and to fight our battles. 2 Chron. xxxii. 
7, 8. 

I shall attempt, 

f. To define the doctrine of divine grace, relative 
to man's salvation, as expressed in these words, It is 
God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good 
pleasure. And, 

II. To explain and enforce the exhortation con- 
tained in these w r ords, Work out your oivn salvation 
with fear and trembling. And, 

I. We are to attempt to define the doctrine of grace 
relative to man's salvation, as expressed in these 
words, It is God which worketh in you both to will and 
to do of his good pleasure. 

These words are made more plain by a small tran- 
sposition of them. It is God, that of his good pleasure, 
ivorketh in you both to will and to do. As if St. Paul had 
said, Every good is freely given of God, and no man 
deserves any thing from him ; yet as it pleaseth him, 
so he deals out to man those measures of mental and 
corporeal energy which he sees to be necessary: 
giving to some more, and to others less, but to all what 



112 



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is sufficient for their salvation. This position and 
meaning of the words removes all imagination of 
merit from man, and gives God the entire glory of his 
work; while it shows his motive to work lies wholly 
in himself, in his own mere grace, and unmerited 
mercy. By this alone he is impelled to work in man. 
both to will and to do. 

This expression, both to will and to do, is capable of 
two interpretations, says Mr. Wesley. First, To will, 
may include the whole of inward ; to do, the whole 
of outward religion. And if it be thus understood, 
it implies, That it is God that worketh both inward 
and outward holiness. — Secondly, To will, may im- 
ply every good desire ; to do, whatever results there- 
from. And then the sentence means, God breathes 
into us every good desire, and brings every good 
desire to good effect. And surely it must hide pride 
from our eyes, if we know and feel, that the very first 
motion of good is from above, as well as the power 
which conducts it to the end. 

My brethren, as many have grievously puzzled 
themselves with this question, (I speak in reference 
to the will and power of human beings) permit me to 
state it in a plain, rational, and scriptural point of 
view. The power to will and to do, comes from God ; 
the use of that power belongs to man. He that has 
not gotten this power, can neither will, nor work ; he 
that has this power can do both. 

But it does not necessarily follow, that he who has 
these powers will use them. The possession of 
powers does not necessarily imply the use of those 
powers. You can easily conceive that a man might 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



liave them, and not use them ; or he might even abuse 
them. God has given us feet, but we may refuse to 
walk. He has given us eyes, but we may shut them, 
and refuse to see. He has given us ears, and we may 
close them, and refuse to hear. In like manner, he has 
given us power to will, and to perform good ; but we 
may neglect this gift of God, or we may stir it up 
and improve it. Hence the accountableness of man. 
Hence also, this exhortation ; which, 

II. I shall endeavour to explain and enforce ; Work 
mi your own salvation with fear and trembling. 

Here we may observe, that the very first word of 
the exhortation gives us a notion of the duty enjoin- 
ed. The work of salvation is no lazy man's busi- 
ness ; but a work of difficulty, which requires close 
application and constant labour. Are all the efforts 
of life devoted to the attainment of wealth, of trash 
which perisheth in the using ; and shall we expect to 
obtain heaven by mere accident ? No, brethren, he 
who made us without ourselves, will not save us un- 
less we save ourselves from this untoward generation. 
Unless we ourselves fight the good fight of faith ; 
unless we agonize to enter in at the strait gate. 

(i Lord, shall we lie so sluggish still 
And never act our part ?" 

Shall we be 

" So careless to secure the crown 
Christ purchased with his blood ?' J 

It is implied in the text, that it is possible for man 
to work out his own salvation. And this intelligence 

15 



114 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



is of the utmost importance, seeing that the Scrip* 
tures represent all men not only as sick, but dead in 
trespasses and sins. But this is no longer an excuse 
for indolence, since God can and does quicken, and 
there is no man, unless he has quenched the Spirit, 
who is wholly void of the grace of God. Every one 
has some measure of that light, which, sooner or 
later, more or less, enlightens every man that cometh 
into the world. Therefore, inasmuch as God works 
in you, you are now able to work out your own sal- 
vation. Every true believer can say, (and faith is in 
the power of every man, or it would not be made 
the condition of our salvation) " I can do all things 
through Christ, which strengtheneth me." 

Again, the exhortation implies the necessity there 
is, (according to the economy of God relative to our 
salvation) that we should work out our salvation, 
Suffer me to give you the general rule, on which 
God's gracious dispensations invariably proceed. 
4 - Unto him that hath, shall be given; but from hira 
that hath not," doth not improve the grace already 
given, " shall be taken away that which he hath." 

1 would enforce the exhortation, by reminding you 
of the excellency of the object, and that is, salvation ; 
which begins with what is called preventing grace, 
including the first wish to please God, and the first 
dawn of light concerning his will. All these imply 
some tendency towards life, some beginning of deli- 
verance from a blind, unfeeling heart. It is carried 
on by convincing grace, commonly called repentance, 
which brings a larger share of self knowledge, and 
a further deliverance from the heart of stone. After- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



ward we experience, by grace, through faith, the pro- 
per Christian salvation, consisting of two parts, justi- 
fication and sanctification. By justification we are 
saved from the guilt of sin, and restored to the favour 
of God. By sanctification we are saved from the 
power and root of sin, and restored to the image of 
God. O brethren, shall we not seek these blessings ? 
Shall the cool lectures of the schoolmen fire the soul 
of the student with an ardent wish to explore the field 
of science ? Shall the glittering tinsel of fortune's 
plume, fire the beholder with enthusiastic desires to 
fly round the circle of wealth ; and shall the minis- 
ter of Jesus Christ, who alone teaches the science of 
salvation, have to address an uninterested and unfeel- 
ing multitude ? Consider, brethren, it is your own sal- 
vation which you are exhorted to work out. The 
most laborious servitude is rendered tolerable, by 
an assurance that we shall receive its entire and 
ample product. In the work of salvation we secure 
our own peace and happiness, both in this life, and 
in that which is to come ; and unless we work out 
our salvation, we plunge our souls into guilt and 
fear in this world, and into eternal despair in the 
next. Solemn thought ! Hence, says the apostle. 
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 

Consider the difficulty of the work, and the danger 
of miscarriage ; how many mountains of difficulty to 
pass over ; how many open enemies, as well as foes 
in ambush; how many difficult duties to perform, 
exposed, as we are, at once to the attacks of the 
devil, our common enemy, and also to our own hearts'' 
lusts. Ah, brethren, we have cause to fear and trem- 



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ble. Yet the apostle does not refer to the paraly- 
zing fear of the coward, nor yet the servile fear of the 
slave. But he refers to that fear .that accords with 
happiness and filial affection ; a fear that " a pro- 
mise being left us of entering into his rest, we should 
come short" of it, and lose the eternal opportunity of 
seeing, praising, and adoring Jesus, which, to the 
child of God, is the highest imaginable idea of heaven- 
ly happiness ; a fear of offending our God, to whom 
we are so much indebted for what he has already 
done for us. There is nothing which the ingenuous 
child fears more, than to offend and wound the feel- 
ings of an indulgent parent. Hence, says the apostle, 
in the 15th verse, "that ye may be the sons of God 
without rebuke;" persons against whom no charge 
of transgression can be justly laid. 

My brethren, we have endeavoured to give you a 
scriptural view of this subject, in which you must have 
discovered that you are accountable beings. And 
let me now observe, that every moment of life is full 
before God, and we are either working out our sal- 
vation, or destruction : 

" Man is the maker of immortal fates." 

Would it not be well to pause, and inquire, what we 
may reasonably expect to be the issue of our con- 
duct. 

Consider, man, you have but little time to spend, 
and the work which you have to do is of the utmost 
importance. Seeing that you are unable to accomplish 
it without assistance, behold God himself comes to 
your assistance. Shall we, then, on whom heaven has 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



117 



lavished its bounties in so many ways, be sluggish, and 
pass through the whole of life, without feeling solici- 
tous about the crown Christ purchased with his 
blood ? Shall heaven 

" All lavish of strange gifts to man," 

be requited- with so much ingratitude and baseness ? 

Have you begun, in earnest, the work of your sal- 
vation ? Your situation, if you have not, is really 
| awful. You are a neglecter of salvation. But if you 
[I have begun the work, do you feel that you are still 
continuing to strive ? Have you shunned the snares 
which make the Christian tremble only to behold ; 
I or have you fajlen into the snare of the devil ? 



SERMON XL 



Judgment also ivill I lay to the line, and righteousness to the . 
plummet, and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of 
lies, and the ivaters shall overflow the hiding-place. 
Isai. xxviii. 17. 

My brethren, the first of all truths, and the founda- 
tion of all religion is, that there is a God. It is 
almost as natural for us to believe that there is a 
God, as it is for us to be men ; and there never has 
existed a nation, who has not acknowledged and wor- 
shipped a Divinity. If in any case the tongue dares 
to utter that there is no God, it either absolutely con- 
tradicts the thoughts of the heart, or is led away by 
the irregular motions of the soul, exhibiting rather 
its desire or wish, than what it really feels. Man's 
principal folly has not generally consisted so much 
in absolutely denying this self-evident truth, as in 
contemplating God as a being destitute of some per- 
fection, or in whom discordant perfections concen- 
trate. 

If we look into the pagan mythology, we shall 
discover a disposition rather to admit too many 
deities, than to deny any ; for, says St. Paul, " they 
fumed the glory of the incorruptible God into an 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 119 

image like to corruptible man, and into birds, and 
four-footed beasts, and creeping things." And it has 
been observed, that every thing in the pagan world 
was defied, but God himself. 

The ignorance of the Christian world has appeared 
in a different way. For while they have acknow- 
ledged but one ever-living and true God, they have 
robbed him of his glory, by attempting to reconcile 
his unblemished holiness with sin and impurity. 

Although the Almighty at some times, shrouds his 
providences in the mantle of obscurity, so that all 
things seem to happen alike to all for a season ; yet 
afterward he goeth out of that darkness and those 
clouds that surround him, and declares that though 
he is a pardoning God, keeping mercy for thousands 
that call upon him, yet he will by no means acquit 
the guilty. 

In the words of the text we hear him vindicate his 
holiness, by assuring the Ephramites, notwithstanding 
their boasted strength and vain trust in the Assyrian 
army, which he calls a refuge of lies, and a hiding-place, 
that he will punish them for their apostacy and vain 
trust, by such agents as he shall think proper to em- 
ploy; denominated, in the text, hail, and floods of 
water. And lest they should think that, according to 
his wonted forbearance, he would overlook their base 
and repeated provocations ; he declares, that he will 
judge them by a standard of the most rigosous jus- 
tice, which he represents by the figures, putting judg- 
ment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet. 

The design of the prophet seems to have been, to 
convince the Ephramites of the folly and danger of 



120 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



relying on insufficient means for help, while they 
neglected the only true rock of their salvation. And 
with a similar design we have selected the words as 
the foundation of this discourse. We shall under- 
take then, 

I. To point out some of the refuge of lies, and 
some of the hiding-place, to which men resort, who 
continue in sin. And that such may be apprised of 
their danger, before it is too late ; we shall attempt, 

II. To show how the searching of God's righteous 
judgments shall confound their expectations. And 

then, 

HI. Conclude with suitable exhortations. 

My brethren, on the division of the subject, you 
may be ready to say, as a certain king once said of a 
man of God, " I hate him, for he doth not prophesy 
good concerning me, but evil." But your general 
neglect of the concerns of futurity, together with the 
hoarse thunders of the cloud of vengeance, which 
lowers over the sinner's head, and the overflowing 
billows of the wrath of God, which are almost ready 
to take you away with all your false hopes : these, 
these are our apology. Exertions made to extinguish 
flames, or to save property from conflagration, are 
usually rapid and violent; and if such should be our 
present movement, you will regard us as obeying the 
injunction of St. Jude, who commands us to save some 
with fear, pulling them out of the fire. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



121 



I. Then, we are to point out the false hopes of the 
sinner; denominated in the text, refuge of lies, and 
hiding-place. 

My brethren, what does he do, who ventures to 
continue in sin ? He cannot defy the divine wrath : 
that is not in man. Neither can he acquiesce under 
the terror of its consequences. How then does he 
support himself, when the minister of Jesus Christ 
charges sin on him, as Nathan did on David ; saying, 
with the authority of our Divine Master, thou art a 
transgressor of the law of God, and art in danger of 
his wrath ? Perhaps he will acknowledge the 
charge : I have sinned : and, God be merciful to 
us ! We have all sinned. I hope God will be mer- 
ciful to me — and so the wound is healed up. And 
this is one of the refuges of which we designed to 
speak. It is true, that God is merciful; but is this 
any reason that he should save those who abuse his 
mercy. Besides, God has no employment in heaven, 
that would make the unrenewed and unholy soul 
happy. But eternal salvation implies perfect hap- 
piness; therefore in your present state you cannot 
be saved. When you say, that God is merciful, re- 
collect, that but " few shall be saved." And who has 
told you that you shall be one of that few? You 
hope you shall be saved, and I fear you will be lost. 
Which is the best founded, your hope, or my fear ? 
God has said, " that the wicked shall be turned into 
hell, and all the nations that forget God." 

Again, when beaten out of this refuge, he will be- 
take himself to another equally deceitful. O, says 
one, I am in no danger ; for I believe in the Lord 

16 



222 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



Jesus Christ. Are you sure of this ? Have you re- 
flected on the nature of faith? Recollect, O man, 
what §t. James says on this subject. " Faith," says 
he, " without works, is dead. Show me thy faith 
without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by 
my works." Recollect, that faith is a heart-purifying 
grace, which works by love, producing serious con- 
cern about salvation. You say you believe. But 
when did you believe ? 6 1 always believed.' If this 
is your answer, you never believed. For we are not 
born in a state of faith and justification, but in a state 
of unbelief and condemnation : for by nature we are 
the children of wrath, even as others. 

Again, others will shelter themselves under the fig- 
leaves (as one calls it) of a blameless walk. Not 
long since I talked to a woman on her death-bed, 
whose greatest refuge from the wrath of God seemed 
to be, that she had done no body any harm. But 
does the religion of the Gospel consist only in nega- 
tives ? Such a religion as this might do for mountains 
and trees, but not for rational and accountable 
agents. Of what does Christ speak, as the ground 
(in a secondary sense) of the future blessedness of 
the righteous ? " Come, ye blessed of my Father, in- 
herit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
tion of the world:" Why! says the astonished soul. 
Will the Judge say, because you never did any body 
harm ? Will he say, Well done, good and faithful ser- 
vant, because you never killed any body, and have 
paid your just debts ? No. But, " I was an hungered, 
and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me 
drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



123 



and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I 
was in prison, and ye came unto me." So that, ad- 
mitting you never did any harm to your fellow-crea- 
ture, this is but a hiding-place which the flood shall 
overflow. But have you even this negative good ? 
Have you never done to any man, either white or 
black, any thing you would not that he should do 
unto you ? I very much dispute it. How then can 
you escape, when the overflowing flood shall pass 
through the land ? 

Others, when pursued by discoveries of sin, hide 
themselves in church privileges. This was the case 
with some in Jeremiah's time, who were notoriously 
wicked : and yet, when a prophet pointed out their 
sin, and the threatened penalty, behold, they would 
say, " the temple of the Lord, the temple of the 
Lord, are these." God speaks to them in the follow- 
ing manner: "Will ye steal, murder, and commit 
adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to 
Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not, 
and come, and stand before me in my house, which is 
called by my name ?" My brethren, although we feel 
disposed very highly to esteem church privileges ; be 
it known to you, that the carnal professor, whose 
religion has been merely external, shall find that his 
outward garb of religion is but a refuge of lies. 

Others there are, who, when conviction takes hold 
of them, and their sins and miseries are plain before 
them, take refuge in their good resolutions. Like 
Felix, when Paul was reasoning before him, they see 
and feel the necessity of religion ; and, like him. they 



124 



Harris's sermons 



contrive to lose their present alarm, in the hope of 
future opportunity. 

Permit me to address myself to such in a few ex- 
postulatory questions. Is the consideration of sin 
and misery, and the means of your escape from it, a 
business to be delayed? Is there any concern that 
should be considered so important, as the concern of 
salvation ? Is there any hazard equal to the hazard 
of destruction ? If a man gain the whole world, and 
lose his own soul, what is he advantaged? Is not God 
a better judge of the most proper time to seek salva- 
tion, than thou art? And does he not say, "Behold, 
now is the accepted time, and now is the day of sal- 
vation." Have you^set any time, when you are re- 
solved to begin to seek salvation? I fear you have 
not done even this : or if you have, when is it ? It 
must be at some future period. And how do you 
know that this period will arrive ? You may be cut 
of£ and in hell, before that time. " Boast not thyself 
of to-morrow, for thou canst not tell what a day may 
bring forth." i 

There is one other hiding-place that I shall men- 
tion, to which men resort, when arrested by the calls 
of grace : and that is, comparing themselves with 
others. When the truths of the law are pressed 
home to the conscience, they begin to say, I am 
wicked, it is true, but not worse than others. If I 
am lost, I shall have abundance of company. This 
may be. But what will this contribute to thy happi- 
ness ? Though the society of the blessed shall cer- 
tainly increase their happiness, yet it is past all 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



125 



doubt, that the society of the miserable shall increase 
their pain. O sinner, what dost thou say ? Art thou 
willing' to hazard the issue, be it what it may? Art 
thou willing to lie down in everlasting sorrow, vainly 
hoping that the society of lost souls will make thy 
case tolerable? O consider the rich man. How 
anxious was he that one should be sent to his father's 
house to warn his brethren, lest they should also 
come to that place of torment ? What pleasure can 
it be to a lost soul, to be surrounded by those who 
can by no means contribute, in the smallest degree, 
to his happiness ? 

My brethren, the smallest attention must convince 
you that these subterfuges, which we have mentioned, 
are unsafe. They are not the hiding-place of the € 
Gospel: and when the fire shall try every man's 
work, of what sort it is, these refuges of lies shall be 
consumed. Which leads td the second thing to be 
considered; namely, 

II. How the righteous judgments of God shall con- 
found the expectation of the wicked. 

My brethren, this is a state of discipline and pro- 
bation. This is not the place designed by the all- 
wise God for virtue to meet with its full reward, or 
for vice to receive its full punishment. In this world, 
wheat and tares grow in the same field : wheat and 
chaff lie on the same floor. Vice walks abroad with 
an unblushing face, while virtue is abandoned to 
detraction, and almost perpetual tears. The Al- 
mighty seems to have distributed his talents, and to 
have taken his journey into a far country. But he has 



126 



HARRISES SERMONS 



given every necessary assurance that the righteous 
shall not always be forgotten, noV the wicked always 
prosper : for " he hath appointed a day in the which 
he will judge the world in righteousness and then 
the tares shall be gathered in bundles to be burned, 
and the wheat shall be gathered into his barn; but 
the chaff shall be blown away into unquenchable fire. 

The standard of right has met with such "violent 
thrusts as to become reclined ; indeed, Judgment has 
fallen in the street. But the Almighty in that day 
will plant the standard of equity, and with the line 
and plummet, will cause it to stand erect. And 
though the sinner may think the Almighty such an 
one as himself, unjust and unholy, yet God will re- 
prove him, and set his sins in order before him. In 
this world men put on faces of deception, but then 
every man shall appear in his real character. Then 
we shall be judged, not according to the opinions of 
men, but by the standard of eternal truth. Not the 
actions of men only shall be judged in that day, but 
God will judge the secrets of men's hearts by Christ 
Jesus. I imagine that I hear the Judge say to the 
unholy, Give an account of thy stewardship. The 
trembling sinner begins : — Lord, I was disposed to 
live in sin, and I trusted to thy mercy. I did hope 
to be saved in my sins, notwithstanding thy word 
declared, that without holiness none should see thy 
face. As thou hast thus dishonoured me, by disbe- 
lieving my truth ; I also will dishonour thee, by load- 
ing thee with everlasting chains of darkness. Stand 
on my left. Another says, Lord, I endeavoured to 
persuade myself that I had faith. But did not I tell 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



127 



thee, that faith without works was dead, and could 
not save a sinner ? Hasten to the left, for thine hypo- 
crisy and self-deception. Lord, says a third, I did 
nobody any harm, and I was in thy church, and I 
thought this would do. But did I not tell thee, replies 
the Judge, that I must be worshipped in spirit and in 
truth ? Hasten to the left, and feel, for ever feel, the 
guilt and baseness of thy conduct. Lord, says a 
fourth, I thought continually that I would repent, but 
I put it off to a more convenient season. Did 1 not 
often tell thee, This is the accepted time, and this is 
the day of salvation ? What hast thou done to trifle 
with the calls of my grace ? Turn to the left ; for I 
have stretched out my hand, and you have not re- 
garded ; I also will now laugh at your calamity and 
fear. I thought, Lord, that I was as good as the rest 
of the world, says a fifth, and that if I was lost, I 
should have company enough. As thou hast low- 
ered the standard of holiness, and hast disbelieved 
my truth, turn aside, and see what thy despairing com- 
panions can do for thee. 

Then I hear him say to them in mass, (this is not 
a figure of a heated imagination) " Go, ye cursed, 
into everlasting fire — and in a moment ten thousand 
thunders burst forth upon them, and billows of wo 
for ever overwhelm their souls. This must be the lot 
of all those who forsake the fountain of living water* 
and turn aside to lying vanities. 

III. My brethren, my dear brethren, let me beseech 
you, while you may, to provide more firm support, 
or you must sink for ever. Let us not expect too 



128 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 

much from the mercy of God, or in other words, let 
us not expect to get to heaven, without holiness of 
heart. Let us never think that a dead faith, which 
does not produce good works, will save us. Let us 
not think that heing in the church will do us any 
good, unless we are watered and fed by its ordinan- 
ces. For surely our condemnation will be greater, 
because of our hypocrisy and deception. And let i 
us also think of the fire that shall be kindled in God's j 
wrath, that shall burn to the lowest hell, and consume 
the wicked. And let us repent and turn to Christ, 
the true hiding-place of the Gospel, 



J 



SERMON XII. 



there the wicked cease from troubling, a?id there the weary 
be at rest Job iii. 17. 

Should one who had followed the gilded plea- 
sures of this poor world long enough to learn the 
genuine character of their insignificancy, light on 
such a passage as this in any writing entitled to Cre- 
dit, he would doubtless pause, and fix his eyes upon 
it with peculiar attention ; and We might reasonably 
expect he would utter a soliloquy not Unlike the 
following: Formed by nature for the enjoyment of 
social intercourse with my fellow-creatures, when 
young I shot the shuttle of my hope through the web 
of fashionable manners and intimate connexions, in 
order to weave the spotted garment of happiness, 
Destitute of malignant design myself, I suspected 
none in others. But, alas ! I have paid the tribute 
of inexperience, and learned at length, by sad expe- 
rience, that every brother will utterly supplant ; and ? 
where I least expected it, I have confirmed the pro- 
phecy of our Lord, " a man's enemies shall be those 
of his own household." When young, the streamers 
of honour, embellished with the stars of happiness, 
painted with all the fervour of youthful imagination. 

17 



130 



HARRISES SERMONS 



floated before my eager eyes : and for years did I ; 
expect that fortune would make me her minion. I 
# followed the capricious goddess, till, quite wearied 

with her freaks, I discontinued the pursuit. Tired 
and jaded by my former efforts, I would by no means 
renew them. Ten thousand disappointments have 
taught me to expect nothing from this insolvent world, 
She promises uncertain bliss, but gives me certain 
pain. My only wish, at present, is to find some shady 
covert, that, retiring from this barren heath, I might 
rest me there in quiet. I read here of a place 
where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are 
at rest. Where, O where shall I find that enchanted 
bower ? The grave ! — In the grave the good man 
finds a calm and welcome retreat from the cares and 
vicissitudes of this life. 

We do not take it on us entirely to justify the tem- 
per in which Job uttered these words. Indeed, in the 
context, he speaks as though the tempter had taken 
the advantage of him ; and, in the tempest of his soul, 
while groaning under the accumulated load of his une- 
qualled afflictions, he thought of little but relief from 
his present sufferings. He knew that in the grave no 
pain is felt ; and for the moment he scarcely looked 
any further His present miseries made him think 
insensibility more desirable 5 though in more lucid 
intervals he expressed a strong and unshaken faith * 
concerning the happiness of the eternal world. Ab- 
stracting, then, from the painful association of cir- 
cumstances which led Job to utter these words, we 
shall regard them as pointing out, in a twofold figure, 
two characteristics of future happiness. The first is-. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 131 

I. The absence of trouble, or evil of any kind. 
The second is ; 

II. Positive enjoyment. 

This view of future happiness will not be uninte- 
resting to any, who, aiming at the heavenly Canaan, 
have to march through this wilderness, — this valley 
of tears. Have we not reason to believe that the 
wonderful power of association which dwells in the 
human mind, led our departed sister to choose these 
words as the foundation of her funeral discourse, by 
holding up the contrast between the afflictions of 
this world, (of which she shared largely) and the 
glory of heaven, of which, through the merits of the 
Redeemer, she hoped to be a partaker ? To contem- 
plate the happiness of the next life, in connexion with 
the termination of the afflictions of this, is certainly 
an association justified in Scripture. Not to mention 
the text, does not the holy Spirit take this view of the 
subject in the Revelation, xivth chapter, 9th verse : — 
" Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
from their labours ; and their works do follow them." 
Again, in the viith of the Revelation, and at the 16th 
and 17 th verses, " They shall hunger no more, nei- 
ther thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on 
them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the 
midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead 
them unto living fountains of waters : and God shall 
w ipe away all tears from their eyes." Immediately 
after the text it is said, " There the prisoners rest 



132 



Harris's sermons 



together ; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 
The small and great are there ; and the servant is 
free from his master." Indeed the highest possible 
idea of heavenly delight is given, where it is said, 
" These are they who came out of great tribulation, 
and have washed their robes, and made them white 
in the blood of the Lamb." 

There seems to be something in the nature of man 
which leads him to regard, with peculiar respect, 
those joys which follow a course of laborious and 
manly exertion. The merchant who has made his 
fortune, and retired from business, enjoys, with 
heightened zest, the profits of his youthful toil. And 
the warrior delights to wear the garments died red 
in the blood of perilous battles. Acquainted with 
this innate principle in man, the poet, when he would 
fill the mind with every idea of sublime delight, 
speaks as follows, 

*'* There on a green and flowery mount 
Our wearied souls shall sit ; 
And with transporting joy recount 
The labours of our feet," 

We have reason to thank God for implanting within 
us a disposition by which we are enabled to take 
spoils from them who spoil us : in other words, to 
reap heightened delight from our light afflictions in 
this world, when we arrive at home ; while, like St 
Paul, we shall say, " I have fought the good dght, I 
have finished my course, I have kept the faith." 

The recollection of distress, of past and successful 
conflict, is a character of happiness which will be 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



133 



unknown to none who are redeemed from among 
men % for all who have intercourse with men, will find 
among them those who trouble them. No matter 
what circle you examine, you will find an unholy in- 
fluence in men who know not God ; men who, in the 
text, are called the wicked. " Those who live de- 
licately are in kings' courts." But do we find 
nothing of jealousies, envy, enmity, and rivalship in 
kings' courts ? " From whence come wars and fight- 
ings among you ? Come they not hence, even of your 
lusts ?" How many, by the lust of power, have been 
torn from their thrones, and stripped of their robes, 
and forced to spend the remainder of their days in 
poverty, wretchedness, and chains ? What treachery, 
rivalship, and ardent competition in every circle of 
society ? These unhallowed monsters spoil every 
thing most promising in society. They enter into 
the temple of love, and with murderous hand sepa- 
rate chief friends. How many feel the tenfold smart 
which David felt when he said, " It was not an enemy 
that reproached me ; then I could have borne it. But 
it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine 
acquaintance" — from whom I had reason to expect 
better treatment. Nay, sometimes we are troubled 
and misused by inferiors. But we have no reason to 
confine the term, wicked, in the text, to wicked men 
exclusively ; but we may regard it as another epithet 
for what the apostle calls " spiritual wickedness in 
high places ;" and elsewhere, " the spirit that work- 
eth in the children of disobedience." For though the 
devil frequently works by men, as agents, to discom- 
pose our peace, he has also other means, A wicked 



134 



HARRISES SERMONS 



heart is in league with a wicked world; and sometimes 
Satan himself arms an arrow from his own quiver. 
In conflict with this threefold troop, how often does 
the believer cry, " O that I had wings like a dove, 
for then would I fly away, and be at rest ! " Blessed 
citizens of heaven, banished at present to these 
dreary abodes of misery, death shall soon lend you 
the wings you want. Then shall you escape from 
this wretched world, in which you have lived only in 
submission to the will of God. Then shall you hide * 
yourselves from the errors and the weaknesses of th'e^ 
understanding; from the heart, that anxious seat of 
so many tumultuous passions. You shall also escape 
from the snare of the devil, and contend no more 
with his cruel devices. " Come, my people, enter 
thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about 
thee : hide thyself as it were for a little moment, un- 
til the indignation be overpast." 

II. But we said, the second figure of the text 
pointed oui* a state of positive enjoyment. The 
word rest, signifies ceasing from labour ; and also a 
cheerful confidence in the promises and providence 
of God. " Return unto thy rest, O my soul," says 
the Psalmist ; give thyself no uneasy doubts about the 
result of things, whilst thou art in the way of duty ; 
" for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee" — he 
hath been better to thee than thy unbelieving fears 
had anticipated in former straits, therefore leave thy 
cause in his hand. 

The word mf, also signifies the positive happiness 
prepared for the people of God. " There remain- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



135 



eth therefore a rest for the people of God." In what 
this rest shall consist, we know but in part. We 
have already observed, that it implies the absence of 
sin, temptation, conflict, persecution, pain, and re- 
proach. These, however, are but the negative parts 
of that happiness. In what the full enjoyment of the 
soul shall consist, is a question which will not be 
completely developed until we shall know even as 
we are known. 

But with reverence we may draw some inferences 
from eternal truth, which, at le- t, throws some light 
on the subject. In one pk aid, " Blessed are 

the dead who die in the ciith the spirit, 

for they rest from their lab ^ieir works do 

follow them." This verse no on^jugjlpres, that a 
holy life is necessary to prepart ure and 

spiritual joys of that high and ho v that 
the rewards of that state shall be J oned to 

our advancement in holiness in this life. This is 
confirmed by another passage, for, saith St. Paul, 
" One star differeth from another star in glory — so 
also is the resurrection of the dead." " And," saith 
Daniel, " they that be wise shall shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmament ; and they that turn many to 
righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever." 

The gradations of rank and of splendour, unfold a 
character of eternal happiness, which we can trace 
but very imperfectly in this life. We are taught in 
another place, to contemplate heavenly happiness in 
connexion with the progressive endowments of the 
mind; « But we all, as with open face, beholding as 
in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the 



136 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



same image from glory to glory." It is thought hy 
some, and not without probability, that the apostle 
refers to the privilege of the Christian, even in this 
world ; and that he was drawing the contrast between 
the dark dispensation of Moses, (at whom the chil- 
dren of Israel had to look through a vail,) and the 
clear revelation of eternal truth, under the luminous 
dispensation of Christ, whose glorious perfections 
were openly displayed in the Gospel, leading the be- 
liever from grac s;race, which in that text is 
called " glory," he attains to perfect holi- 

ness. But tb dea maj doubtless be extended to 
the progress ; i be realized even in heaven. 

And how c template the glories of heaven 

in a more r. I point of view? 

Ther more grateful to the human mind 

than t f r ogress. There is a degree of de- 

light in a& g the successive swells of a cloud-* 

capt mountain . there is still more in ascending the 
steep of moral and intellectual science. The human 
being is at first destitute of any thing like intellect 
but soon his dawning genius begins to open : soon We 
behold him a man of mature thought, capable of the 
most rigid discrimination. In separating truth from 
error he discovers the utmost dexterity. To what a 
vast height of perfection may human nature attain, 
even in this life ! What, then, shall be the state of 
improvement to which the soul shall arrive, when, 
unmixed with error, it shall drink in eternal wisdom 
from God, the fountain of all knowledge ? — Here we 
might dwell upon the different employments which 
shall then engage our hearts and our tongues ; (em- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



137 



ployments not inconsistent with rest) the social plea- 
sures and the mutual delights of the blessed above — 
but this would exceed our limits. 

If the prospects which faith opens to the believer, 
when he shall have finished his course in this world, 
are so animating — if the rest of the grave be so desi- 
rable — \fhr-- )rious, what folly is it that 
we should drea i go from hence? On the 
whole, 1 the happiness of the dead 
who ha^ v , for they, with the utmost 
^propriety, may adopt the well-known verses of the 
poet, 

i( I was a stricken deer that left the herd 
Long since ; with many an arrow deep infixt, 
My panting side was charged, when% withdrew 
To seek a tranquil death in distant shadWs. 
There was I found by one who had himself 
Been shot by th' archers. In his side he bore. 
And in his hands and feet, the cruel scars. 
With gentle force soliciting the darts, 
He drew them forth, and heal'd, and bade me live." 



18 



SERMON XII! 



(Preached before the Bible Society, Petefsfctarg, Vir.) 

. 

The entrance of thy words giv aght ; it giveth under* 
standing to the simple. Psalm cxix. 130. 

It is natural that we should wish to save from the 
vortex of revolution whatsoever interesting scenes or 
great events have been blended with our history, or 
have formed the pride of our character. Hence the 
recurrent festivals, and permanent monuments, which 
have been celebrated and erected in the world. 
Now, it seems to me, that if ever man might be indul- 
ged to feel any thing like elevation, and to rejoice in 
approximation to the God of love, it is when he has 
laid successful plans to unrol the volume of eternal 
truth, which, clear as the sun, discloses to the eye of 
faith the interesting prospects and realities of eter- 
nity. Yes, when we look at the members of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society, who first set on 
foot the plan, we can but regard them as men, who, 
under God, have followed the world, and prepared it 
for the seed of regeneration, which shall, ere long, 
produce the harvest of universal peace and righte- 
ousness. 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 139 
* 

• 

While we applaud their noble charity, and pray 
for the speedy accomplishment of their wishes, we 
acknowledge our efforts to be less ostensible, but not 
less laudable. If our little Institution have not, like 
the boundless ocean, washed the shores of distant 
nations ; it may be fitly represented by the stream 
which is apparently lost among the herbage, but 
which nevertheless betrays its course by its salutary 
effects. 

Our object has been to put into the hands of some 
of our fellow-creatures, who could not, and of others, 
who would not, procure it, the Bible ; of which it 
was said by David, " It is a lamp to my feet, and a 
light unto my path." Nor is it merely calculated to 
benefit those only, who, like David, are wise and ex- 
perienced ; for it is said in the text, that its very en- 
trance giveth light, and that it giveth understanding to the 
simple. 

It is, doubtless, unnecessary to observe, that by the 
term words, in the text, we are to understand the Holy 
Scriptures. The slightest attention to the context, 
will convince us that nothing else could have been 
intended. By the entrance of the words, in a general 
sense, we are to understand, its becoming acces- 
sible to any from whom it was before secluded. Or, 
in a special sense, it means, that where God's 
words enter the soul, being read, or heard and un- 
derstood, they give a satisfactory light to the mind> 
on subjects of which they treat. The happy effect 
of a proper reception of the word of God is beauti- 
fully set forth by the figure of light. By no avenue 
of corporeal perception, is knowledge, in her full 



140 



Harris's sermons 



extent, so accessible to the soul, as through the glo- 
rious and delightful medium of light. There is much 
beauty, therefore, as well as truth, in representing the 
Scriptures as shedding light on whatever surrounds 
us that is connected with our happiness. 

The psalmist adds, it giveth understanding to the sim- 
ple. As far as relates to spiritual science, all men 
are simple by nature : " the natural man receiveth 
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are fool- 
ishness unto him; neither can he know them, because 
they are spiritually discerned." But if we under- 
stand the term simple literally, we may observe, that a 
mere novice, by a careful attention to plain scriptu- 
ral truth, can, in a short time, gain an understanding 
of those things which for ages bewildered the fullest 
light and strongest powers of philosophical acute- 
ness. 

In the further improvement of this subject, we shall 
briefly speak of some of the general advantages of 
revelation, 

I. As it relates to matters of faith ; and, 

II. As it relates to practice or duty. 

I. 1. In the pursuit of knowledge we are well aware, 
that in reference to any particular subject, some pri- 
mary or first principles are generally, if not always, 
admitted ; and the result of our further research is, 
either a more decided conviction of the correctness 
of those principles, and their more extended appli- 
cation, or a rejection of them as conceptions found 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



141 



(o be inconsistent with truth. If we admit the follow- 
ing principles to be intuitive, namely, a belief in the 
existence of a supreme and governing power in the 
universe, and that this being should be the object of 
our worship ; that, as accountable to him for our ac- 
tions, and expecting an existence after the present 
life, we may presume a future state of reward or 
punishment ; if these principles are so universally re- 
ceived among mankind, as to give us reason to believe 
they are necessarily connected with the mind of man ; 
we shall soon perceive, that it is only by the revela- 
tion which the Almighty has vouchsafed of himself, 
we can attain correct information on these momentous 
subjects. 

2. Now, the inherent idea of a God, although in- 
delible in the minds of all, is nevertheless connected, 
in many cases, with the most barbarous ignorance. I 
add, in all cases it is connected with low and con- 
fused views of the perfections of God, where it has 
not been enlightened by Revelation. 

3. This ignorance of the perfections of Deity must 
lead to extravagance and absurdity in his worship. 
Of some of the wisest of the heathens it was said, 
that they changed the glory of the incorruptible God 
into an image made like to corruptible man, and into 
birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 
Their foolish hearts were darkened, and they con- 
templated God as one of the most petulant and 
peevish of beings ; and the worship paid to him was 
of a piece with the ideas formed. Hence thousands 
of human victims have been sacrificed, in order to 
appease a God, made angry by the most trifling oc- 



MS 



Harris's sermons 



curreoce. If such is the ignorance of the most en- 
lightened heathens* what must be the state of those, 
among whom even human wisdom is unimproved ? 1 
will not speak of the sensualist, whose wives are mul- 
tiplied according to the means he has to support 
them: I will not speak of the misjudging female, 
who esteems it her greatest glory to immolate herself 
on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband: 1 
shall not mention those deluded bigots, who fall will- 
ing victims beneath the wheels of a ponderous Jag- 
gernaut. 

4. Now, provision is made to remove those evils by 
the word of the Lord. In the Scriptures God is re- 
vealed as a being of almighty power, infinite holi- 
ness, inflexible justice, and unbounded love. The 
Scriptures assure us, that the Lord hath no delight in 
iniquity ; that he is a spirit, and that he principally 
regardeth the dispositions of the heart, in those who 
worship him. 

5. As to the difference between sin and duty, in 
many cases reason must be dubious and hesitating in 
its decisions ; in many, it is corrupted and biassed by 
the heart, and in all, its conclusions, when drawn 
through a train of deductions, which grow less evi- 
dent at every step, strike with little force on the 
mind where they are opposed by the vices and pas- 
sions inherent in our nature. The Scriptures leave 
us no time to hesitate. Thou skalt, or thou shalt not } 
under the authority of the seal of revelation, is quite 
sufficient. 

6. As to the doctrine of future rewards and punish- 
ments, some faint glimmering of it is afforded by the 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



143 



light of nature; but the view is too indistinct to 
amount to any thing like certainty, and too feeble to 
operate as a tie of moral obligation. The entrance 
of God's word hath given light on this subject : life 
and immortality are brought to light by the GospeL 
It hath rendered the future as certain as the present, 
and drawn, from eternity, motives the most sublime 
to animate and strengthen virtue, and the most awful 
to discourage vice. Such are the general advanta- 
ges, as to matters of faith, which are derived from the 
Holy Scriptures. 

We proceed now to speak of its advantages, 

II. As it relates to practice or duty. 

1. It has been already observed, that by the Scrip- 
tures we are taught the perfections of the Divine 
Being, and the manner in which he should be wor- 
shipped. And in addition to what has been said, I 
now add, there is no other book in the world, beside 
the Bible, in which we find either a satisfactory idea 
of Deity, or the manner in which he should be wor- 
shipped. It is there we learn, both that God is, and 
that " he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek 
him;' 

2. By the same light, by which we are taught the 
divine perfections, we are also taught the deformity 
of sin. 44 1 had not known sin," says St. Paul, 44 but 
by the law." In the fabulous records of pagan anti- 
quity, we read of a mirror invested with properties 
so rare, that by looking into it, its possessor could 
perceive any object he wished to see, however 
remote ; and discover, with equal ease, things behind 



144 



Harris's sermons 



and before, above and below. Such a mirror, but in- 
finitely more valuable than this fictitious glass, do we 
really possess in the Bible. It contains straight rules, 
and therefore shows us the crooks and blemishes of 
life : by looking into the perfect law of God, we learn 
that we have sinned, and our language then is, like 
that of Job, " I have heard of thee by the hearing of 
the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee : wherefore I 
repent and abhor myself in dust and ashes." True 
repentance supposes a light which never dawned on 
the mind of man, unaided by the illumination of 
God's word. Many philosophers felt the propensities 
to evil, but never could tell, till assisted by revela- 
tion, from whence they proceeded. Not having learn- 
ed that the spring was corrupted by the introduction 
of moral evil, they were at a loss to determine how 
the streams became polluted. But by the written 
word we learn- that God created man upright, but 
that he has sought out many inventions. We learn 
that he has incapacitated himself to stand on a foot- 
ing of absolute righteousness ; but that, through the 
merits of Jesus Christ, his atoning sacrifice and advo- 
cate, repentance will avail in his behalf ; and that 
God can be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly 
who believe in Jesus. 

3. The Scriptures require us to love God with 
filial, and our fellow-creatures with fraternal affection : 
they require rulers to be just, ruling in the fear of 
God ; and subjects to lead quiet lives, in all godliness 
and honesty : they require the husband to love his 
wife even as himself, and the wife to reverence her 
husband : they require parents to educate their 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



145 



children in the fear of the Lord; and children to 
honour their parents : they require masters to treat 
their servants with lenity; and servants to be sub- 
missive and faithful: they require, in all, tempe- 
rance, contentment, and industry: they, moreover, 
provide for the speedy termination of animosities, 
and all these duties are enforced by the most inte- 
resting motives drawn from eternity. Destroy the 
volume of revelation, and you render us profoundly 
ignorant of our Maker, of the formation of the world, 
of our present duty, and of our future destination r 
you take from us every thing which prevents exis- 
tence from becoming our greatest curse. 

How great, then, should our efforts be to distri- 
bute this invaluable treasure ? Should we not bring 
with us, into the discharge of the duties of this Soci- 
ety, all the ardour of exertion, and all the liveliness 
of Christian feeling? Will it be said, that few of our 
fellow-creatures are destitute of this volume, but by 
their own negligence ? Admitting this to be true, it is 
no reason why we should neglect them. God does 
not deal so with us ; and real benevolence bids us act 
without any prospect of reward in this life, save the 
satisfaction of a peaceful conscience, and of having 
done good. 

This, my brethren, is the age of action. The 
missionary spirit has gone forth into the world, and 
holy men, who reckon not their lives dear unto them? 
are labouring on the outskirts of the world, and re- 
claiming another, and another section from the wastes 
of nature, and adding to the spreading empire of the 
King of Zion, And Bible societies, in our day. are 

19 




146 Harris's sermons on important subjects, 



related to missionary societies, as the gift of tongues 
was related to the commission of the apostles, in the 
primitive church. If, therefore, we have an opening 
for Bibles in our neighbourhoods, let us show our zeal 
to supply the lack. If our neighbours are supplied, 
let us then send forth our contribution, to aid those 
who are employed elsewhere in this glorious work. 

Let us not forget to cultivate our own field also, 
lest thorns should grow in it, while we gather wheat 
from abroad. And while, by our exertions to circu- 
late it, we declare our faith in the Bible as the word 
of God, let us see to if that our hearts and lives are 
conformed to its precepts. 

% > ^W^> * /' ; . , is*. ! \ 

/ \ . w '\t ■ ■ ■' AS V".'-' vV^MmWr 



r 7 



SERMON XIV. 



So then every one of us shall give account of himself to 
God. Rom. xiv. 12. 

It seems very likely from this and the following 
chapter, that there were very considerable misunder- 
standings between the Jewish and Gentile converts at 
Rome, relative to certain customs which were sa- 
credly observed by the one, and disregarded by the 
other. The principal subject of dispute was con- 
cerning meats and days. It appears, further, that 
mutual censures and uncharitable judgments circu- 
lated among them, and that brotherly love and cha- 
rity did not prevail. 

The apostle endeavours to evince the impropriety 
of this conduct : First, by showing that Christ, by 
virtue of his meritorious passion and glorious resur- 
rection, was constituted Lord of all things, and has 
power to judge all persons, verse 9. Secondly, That 
to this supreme and absolute Lord, every one of us 
must give an account of our actions, and from him 
receive our final doom, verses 10, 11. 

From a consideration of this great and final judg- 
ment, to w hich we are all hastening apace, the apos- 
tle draws this argument to dissuade from censuring 



148 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



and judging one another : Remember the judge 
standeth at the door, and jou must shortly stand 
before the judgment-seat of Christ, where every one 
of us must give an account of himself to God. We 
shall not, at the bar of God, be obliged to account 
for the conduct of others, but each shall give account 
of himself to God ; and let him see that he be pre- 
pared to give up his account with joy. The rules 
and exhortations of the apostle are of great use : 
happy would it be for the Christian world, if they 
were still more generally practised. 

Not regarding, however, the primary design of 
these words, we shall bend them to the practical 
purpose of promoting that constant circumspection 
best becoming those, who, filling up a state of proba- 
tion, are hastening to the judgment-seat of Christ, to 
give an account of the deeds done in the body. 

The doctrine of a final judgment is one of the 
most instructive truths in the whole compass of reve- 
lation. What consideration can have greater in- 
fluence on the general morals of men, and their par- 
ticular actions, than this, " Thou, God, seest me.' f 
and before thy awful bar shall I give an account for 
every action of life, while a sunbeam shall point out 
each secret fault. Remark the certainty of this 
solemn judgment: every one of us shall give an account 
of himself to God, 

To say nothing of the express declarations of holy 
writ, we might venture to say, that a future judgment 
must take place, in order that God may vindicate his 
justice, and remove the cloud which hangs over the 
dispensation of his providence in this state of proba- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



Hon. Though God is the moral, as well as th< 
sical Governor of the universe, we kok in ^ 
this world for that complete discrimination c 
racter, and that strict apportionment tf re 
which reason and the sentiments of nature f 
to ascribe to God. Although we see enough t 
vince us that there is an overruling Providence 
are sometimes ready to think, surely all thin^ 
pen alike to all. And when the apostle as 
there unrighteousness with God ? we should b< 
to answer in the affirmative, if we. did not lo 
ward to the time of general retribution, « w 
shall return and discern between the righteo 
the wicked; between him that serveth God, a 
that serveth him not." The Lord, howeve 
spoken : let this suffice. 44 He hath appointee 
in the which he will judge the world in rig 
ness." 44 For we must all stand before the jud 
seat of Christ." And, every one of us slwll give 
of himself to God. Remark, also, the univers; 
this judgment, Every one of us. Is there airj 
too hard for God to do ? No matter if the slur 
ages shall have intervened between our dea 
judgment; no matter how great, or how sn 
may be ; none are too great to illude his po^ 
too small to escape his notice. 

Observe, next, the subject matter of whi 
account must be rendered ; and that is, of 01 
It is easy to perceive, unless our eyes hav< 
blinded by the dust of prejudice, that the pr 
ings of that great day shall be grounded < 
agency of man, and approved by the justice o 



Harris's sermons 



it is it, then, which denominates man an ac« 
,ble be*ig ? 

1 the #rsi place, time is necessary to the forma- 

a character of agency. For the use, then, of 
we must give an account to God. Time is 
[Hit precious : it is given to us for the most 
)urpose. Though by nature we are sinners, 
sly application to the Lord we may obtain 

and renewal in the spirit of our minds ; and 
>r various and important the duties required of 

be, by diligence and perseverance we may 
a them. This, however, requires great dili- 

and carefulness, and every moment of life 
ull before God, we are therefore exhorted by 
Dstle to " redeem the time." What account, 
hall we render to God of the time we have 
way, or spent in frivolous employ ? Or (which 
more serious) what shall we say of those pur- 
vhose leading object has been entirely apart 
le glory of God, as seeking to deck and orna- 
he body, while the soul has been left to starve 
:rish ? What shall we say of the time we have 
in reading novels, and other pernicious books, 

so far from benefiting the mind, rob it of cor- 
rinciple ; while at the same time, we have lived 
total neglect of reading the Scriptures ? What 

time spent in idle visiting and vain conversa- 
1 which, if religion has been introduced at all, 
been rather in the way of burlesque ; and if 
ime of our neighbour has been mentioned, it 
;en only to slander him ? All whom these inter- 
nes concern, may expect, when weighed in the 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



151 



balances of eternal justice and truth, to be found 
wanting, and treated as those, who have murdered 
time and ruined their own souls. But it will be well 
for those who improve time. 

2. In addition to time, it requires intellectual facul- 
ties to constitute a fit subject for judgment. " This 
is the condemnation, that light has come into the 
world." " For it were better for them not to have 
known the ways of righteousness, than after they have 
known it, to turn from the holy commandment de- 
livered unto them." ♦ 

The faculties of our minds were given us to be 
employed in seeking to find out God, not indeed to 
perfection, but in understanding the communicable 
perfections of Deity, and striving to imitate them. 
Into the infinite source of goodness, all the powers of 
an enlightened mind will seek to bend themselves. 
What, then, shall the man have to say for himself, 
who suffers his mind to be uncultivated ; or who em- 
ploys it, when cultivated, to entangle truth, to cavil 
at religion, or make a mock of it, and scoff at those 
who profess it ? What shall the man say for himself, 
who employs his superior talents, only to impose on 
the credulity of the weak and unsuspecting ? Such 
talents are capable of being applied to the best, or 
the worst purposes in life, and the guilt of their mis- 
application is to be measured, both by the good they 
have not done, and the evil of which they have been 
the active cause. What persuasive energy might 
they not add to the cause of religion ? But, alas ! 
what unhappy extent do they frequently give to the 
cause of vice ? Ah ! how many sins, not your own. 



152 



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will you have to answer for in the day of decision s 
you, who have been blessed with minds susceptible 
of information of the most valuable description, but 
who live and die ignorant of the knowledge most -of 
all important. But happy for those who shall have 
brought every talent as an offering to the altar of 
religion. 

3. The means of religious information heighten 
the responsibility of those who are blessed with 
them. A sinner, enjoying the light of the Gospel, 
sins against the strong conviction of his own mind ; 
against the authority of the divine law, most clearly 
interpreted ; against the high and interesting pros- 
pect of eternity, continually presented to his mind in 
the institutions of religion ; and against the majesty 
and justice of God, armed to enforce his law. What 
account shall he render tcf God, who has resisted the 
counsels of divine wisdom, and the invitations of 
divine mercy proposed in the Gospel; and, in addi- 
tion to this, has abused the divine mercy, illustriously 
displayed to the world in the cross of the Redeemer ? 
But happy will it be for the man, who, when called 
to answer at the bar of God, shall have improved the 
ordinances and instructions of the Gospel to their in- 
tended use. His five talents, thus improved, shall 
have gained five other talents, and he shall be made 
ruler over ten cities. 

4. Property is a talent conferred by the Almighty, 
and in this life we sustain the character of stewards. 
If it hath pleased the Almighty to put it in the power 
of some men to enjoy the common blessings of exis- 
tence with greater dignity than others, by crowning 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



153 



them with affluence, or raising them to honourable 
stations ; are not their vices marked with a guilt 
proportioned to their misimproved advantages ? 
What, then, shall the man say for himself at the bar 
of God, who has degraded his property to the igno- 
ble purpose of gratifying his passions, and raising him 
above the control of the laws of God ; of fostering 
a spirit of pride and insolence to mankind, and un- 
thankfulness to God, as if what he enjoyed, belonged 
to him by an independent possession ? Have we not 
reason to believe, that these vain reptiles, who thus 
pervert the unmerited bounty of Heaven, shall have 
their talent taken from them, while they shall be cast 
into unquenchable fire ? 

Happy for those, who, instead of wasting their 
Lord's goods, shall have traded on them to advan- 
tage. Verily he will make them rulers over his 
house. 

The solemnities of that awful day call for serious 
forethought. When we anticipate an interview with 
a superior, we are apt to endeavour to realize the 
approaching scene. But what scene can require 
such serious forethought as this of which we have 
been speaking ? Should it take place immediately, 
are we prepared to give a joyful account, either of 
our time, intellectual faculties, means of religious in- 
struction, or property. The consequences of not 
being ready will be truly awful. O that God may 
help you to think of it in time ! 



SERMON XV. 



If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are 
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, 
Set your affections on things above, not on things on the 
earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ 
in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear^ 
then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Colossi ang 
iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. 

In the 12th verse of the preceding chapter the apos- 
tle had told the Colossians, that they had heen typi- 
cally buried with Christ in baptism, and raised with 
him from the dead to spiritual life here, as the pledge 
of a future resurrection to life eternal. Every man 
who believes the Christian religion, and receives bap- 
tism as a token or proof of his belief, is thereby 
bound to a life of righteousness. For, saith the apos- 
tle in his epistle to the Romans, " know ye not that 
so many of us as were baptised into Christ, were 
baptised into his death ?" As Jesus Christ, in his cru- 
cifixion, died completely, so that no spark of the na- 
tural or animal life remained ; so, infers the apostle, 
those who profess his religion should be so com- 
pletely separated from the principles and practice 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 155 

of sin, that they have no more connexion with it, nor 
any more influence from it, than a dead man has with, 
or from, his departed spirit. On the principles the 
apostle laid down, he engrafts two very weighty 
exhortations. Relative to the boasted dictates of 
pagan and Jewish philosophy, which by baptism they 
had renounced for the faith of the Gospel, he thus 
bespeaks them : " Beware lest any spoil you through 
philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of 
men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after 
Christ having reference, no doubt to the shadows 
and ceremonies of the Jewish religion, which, when 
opposed to the substance and sublime instruction to 
be received in the school of Christ, were but as ele- 
ments or lessons for children. Relative to the holy 
life suitable to those who professed the Christian faith, 
he gives the practical exhortation in the two first 
verses of the text, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek 
those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the 
right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, 
not on things on the earth ; which he enforces by two 
arguments, taken, the one from their profession, the 
other from their hopes ; For ye are dead, and your life 
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our 
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in 
glory. 

In order that these words . may be made useful to 
us, we shall take the occasion they offer to speak . 

I. Of the principle. 



II. Of the practice; and, 



156 



Harris's sermons 



III. Of the end of real religion, according to the 
Gospel state. 

Before entering on this, we shall give, by way of 
preliminary, a brief and scriptural view of the natu- 
ral state of man. The state of nature is fully repre- 
sented in the Epistle to the Ephesians, " This, there- 
fore, I say, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth 
walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their 
mind, having the understanding darkened, being 
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance 
that is in them." " Among whom also, we all had 
our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, 
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind ; 
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as 
others ;" " and were at that time without Christ, 
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and 
strangers to the covenants of promise." Now this 
is called a state of death : " and you hath he quick- 
ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." 

While men are thus dead to God, they live only to 
sin and unrighteousness, and therefore sin is said 
" to reign in them, and have dominion over them." In 
this state of corruption, the natural passions and 
affections are but the instruments or members of sin. 
Now as the body, together with the soul, which is the 
active principle of life, constitute the man, so, by an 
easy metaphor, the appetites and affections (which 
compose the body of sin, being under its complete 
control,) are in Scripture called " the old man the 
only man which lives before regeneration by Christ 
Jesus. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



157 



It is easy to see what must become of this old man, 
this man of sin, upon the appearing of the Son of 
God, who came to destroy the works of the devil. 
He and his works must be destroyed where Christ is 
fully revealed, to make way for the Spirit of righte- 
ousness, and to bring man to the Gospel state. But 
thus to destroy the old man, to root out all the cor- 
rupt principles of nature, and to implant a new prin- 
ciple of life and holiness ; — to restore the lost image 
of God, and give new desires to the soul, and new 
affections to the heart ; what is it but to new-make 
the man, and by a second creation, to restore him to 
those rights and privileges which he had forfeited by 
sin and disobedience ? Hence, says the apostle, " if 
any man be in Christ he is a new creature." " In 
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, 
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature-."- " We are 
his workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus." 
" And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." Some- 
times we read, that we were dead before the know- 
ledge of Christ: this signifies the state of an una- 
wakened sinner. In that state he cannot exercise 
any of the functions proper to spiritual life, but lives 
buried under the ruins of sin. 

Again, we read in Scripture, of dying, and being 
buried with Christ ; this signifies, that you might just 
as well say, that all the actions of life may be per- 
formed in the grave, when a man is dead and buried, 
as that a Christian may continue in sin. " How then," 
cries the apostle, " shall we who are dead to sin live 
any longer therein ?" 



158 



Harris's sermons 



Sometimes We read, that those who are " dead with 
Christ," are " risen with him," and " alive in him ;" 
which signifies the new life of holiness which all 
Christians live, who sustain the true character of the 
Gospel state. The Scripture seems to speak of two 
deaths which we must undergo, and of two resurrec- . 
tions of which we must partake. A death to sin ; — 
"I am crucified to the world," says Paul: and a 
resurrection to a life of holiness, — " nevertheless," 
says he, " I live." And again, 44 1 willingly suffer the 
loss of all things, that 1 might know the power of 
Christ's resurrection." The other is the death of the 
body, and its final resurrection to a life of eternal 
glory. The apostle in the text supposes the Colos- 
sians to have undergone the former of those deaths, 
and to have been partakers of the former of those 
resurrections ; and to be in a state of grace, a justi- 
fied or Gospel state, the nature of which I shall now 
endeavour more fully to explain. 

I. If you have attended to what has been said, you 
have learned, that the principle of religion is not na- 9 
tural, but superinduce'd by the grace of God. " And 
you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses 
and sins." We must be careful, however, lest we be 
led into a mistake by the strength of the figure. For 
though man, in a state of nature, is represented as 
dead, yet connected with the Gospel provision, he is 
doubtless capable of making exertions for his salva- 
tion : for the Spirit of him that raised up Christ from 
the dead, quickeneth those who follow the light he 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 159 



affords. We feel fully justified in offering salvation to 
all, and in stating this as the condemnation, u that 
light is come into the world, and men love darkness 
rather than light." The principle of religion is a 
principle of true faith ; which, while it is the gift of 
God, is also the act of man, leading the soul to all 
holiness. By faith we are both justified and sanc- 
tified. It is said in the text, of such as possess this 
principle, ye are dead ; dead, as to the hope of salva- 
tion by the law : crucified to the world, so as not to 
seek your portion, or place your happiness in earthly 
things : and your life is hid with Christ in God — your 
spiritual life is carried on in secret transactions be- 
tween God and your own souls, by virtue of your 
mystical union with Christ ; and all your enjoyments 
are derived from him, who is essentially one with the 
Father; nor is it possible that the world should either 
understand the nature of your union, or conceive of 
the greatness of your joy. So far then as relates to 
the principle of real religion, it is the life of God in 
the soul of man, delivering the soul from the power 
of sin, and filling it with perfect peace. 
I proceed to speak something, 

II. Of the duties of religion. 

The nature of the duty to which we are exhorted hi 
the text, is expressed positively, seek those things which 
are above, and set your affections on them ; and nega- 
tively, set not your affections on things on the earth But 
what things are these? God the Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, the holiness and happiness of heaven. 
But what is it to seek the things above, and to set 



I 



!60 



Harris's sermons 



our affections on them ? It comprehends, first, an act 
of the understanding ; a knowledge of the worth of 
them. " Where your treasure is, there will your 
heart be also." Now, if for a moment we contem- 
plate the perfections of Deity, we must acknowledge 
that he is an all-sufficient good ; he possesses infinite 
wisdom to contrive our happiness, and infinite power 
to effect it. God is not only an all-sufficient good, 
but he is perfect goodness. He is willing to commu- 
nicate happiness to us, and to employ his power and 
wisdom for our good ; He made us that we might be 
happy : and who can doubt his goodness, seeing he 
has given his only Son to die for us ? — God is an un- 
changeable good. If he were not so, we might be 
miserable, notwithstanding all his wisdom, power, and 
goodness; for that cannot be real happiness which 
depends upon uncertainties. God is an eternal good : 
nothing but what is so, can make us happy. Man, 
having an immortal spirit, and being designed for an 
endless duration, must have a proportionate happi- 
ness, and for this reason, nothing in this world is cal- 
culated to make him happy. It requires no great 
effort of the understanding to perceive, that holiness, 
which is one of the things above, is of unspeakable 
worth, for it is the only way to heaven. " Without 
holiness no man shall see the Lord." The vision of 
God, the society of angels, the company of saints — 
these are the things we Christians are to think about, 
and endeavour to understand their worth, for these 
are to be our future portion. 

But, secondly, the duty of the Christian, expressed 
in the text, implies an act of the will to choose these 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



161 



things, and with the ardour of the affections to love 
them. Here we may place our love without impro- 
priety, for these are things fit to cheer the mind. 

Thirdly, the duty in the text implies, an act of in- 
dustry. Our affections are so many springs of mo- 
tion, to excite our endeavours to obtain the object of 
our love. 

Fourthly, it implies a clear preference of the things 
above, to the things below, when they come in com- 
petition. Set your affections on things above, not on things 
below; and show it by your readiness to part with 
these things. But what do we understand by things 
on the earth? Happiness is a primary object with mor- 
tals, and they generally seek honour and riches as the 
means to obtain it. The Christian, however, is not 
to set his affections on riches. Indeed, why should 
he ? They perish in the using ; they frequently make 
to themselves wings and fly away ; and while they 
stay with us, they cannot make us happy ; and if they 
could, " we brought nothing with us into this world, 
and it is certain we can carry nothing out." Why 
should a man set his affections on honour, the honour 
of this world ? It is but as a puff of breath, and none 
but that which cometh from God can endure. Where 
are the ancient and mighty thunderbolts of war, the 
Roman Cesars, and the mighty kings ? Ah ! they are 

" Cramm'd into a place I blush to name, 
And despicably, mean." 

•—Indeed it is but by a feeble thread we hold any 
earthly joy. How frequently are all the fine sensi- 
bilities of the soul irritated by the loss of friends ? 

21 



162 



Harris's sermons 



Turn then, turn away your eyes from beholding these 
vanities, and seek, mind, regard, prefer, and pursue 
the things above. To induce you to do so, I hasten 
to speak, 

III. Of the end of a Christian course, When Christ, 
who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with 
him in glory. 

Here let us observe, that Jesus Christ, by whom 
believers have a life of grace, and from whom they 
expect a life of glory, shall certainly appear, yea, and 
Kave a very glorious appearance. He shall be glo- 
rious in his person, glorious in his authority, glorious 
in his attendants. " I beheld, (says Daniel) till the 
thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did 
sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair 
of his head like pure wool : his throne was like the 
fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery 
stream issued and came forth from before him : thou- 
sand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand 
times ten thousand stood before him." St. John 
beheld him in vision, and the sun became black 
as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as 
blood, and before his face the heavens departed as a 
scroll, when it is rolled together. As to his atten- 
dants, it is said, " The Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
from heaven in flaming fire with ten thousand of his 
saints. As to his authority and power, it shall be the 
greatest of which it is possible to conceive ; from 
the foot of his throne issue the thunders which rend 
the universe, and the lightnings that set it on fire. In 
his hand he bears the destinies of men and of angels . 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



163 



at the sound of his voice, which is as the sound of 
many waters, the righteous and the wicked are sepa* 
rated, and he deals out to each the irreversible de- 
crees of his justice, according to their deserts. 
Then, O then shall the Christians, crucified by pro- 
fession and practice, appear, in full glory, with Christ, 
their husband and friend. O what glorious company, 
what full delight ! O that I could represent to you the 
triumphs of that day, when God shall bring with him 
his sainst who have died in the Lord, to judge the 
world ; and when those who remain, and are alive, 
shall be caught up in the air to meet the Lord at his 
coming, and so be ever with the Lord. Fain would 
I speak something more fully of that glory, so as to 
fill all the soul with longing desire to partake of it 
I however will only say, it shall be a blessedness con- 
ferred by the Almighty, suitable to desires implanted 
by himself. 

I would inquire, first, are you risen with Christ, 
having been crucified with him to the world and sin ? 
Let us not be content with partial views of this sub- 
ject : we may know. Are we setting our affections on 
things above ? Do we daily meditate on the joys of 
heaven, and the society of the blessed ; and do we 
long to be there ? If so, let us rejoice in the promise. 



SERMON XVI. 



— -w^Rft- — 

All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me, and him 
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out John 
vi. 37. 

In this verse, and the context, our Lord instructed 
the J ews who heard him, and all into whose hands 
this book shall fall, in the great doctrines of salva- 
tion ; which he makes the result of God's grace in 
calling, drawing, and teaching by his Spirit, and 
man's co-operation with divine grace, by endeavour- 
ing to come to Christ, and the all-powerful love with 
which Christ receives and entertains those who come 
to him. Man is represented as entirely helpless, by 
nature : utterly unable either to feel his disease, or to 
see his cure — " No man can come unto me, except 
the Father, which hath sent me, draw him." But how 
is a man drawn ? God shows him his wants, enlight- 
ens his mind, and gives him. to feel himself a lost sin- 
ner ; and this he effects by his word and Spirit. " It 
is written in the prophets, And they shall be all 
taught of God." Every man, therefore, that hath 
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto 
me. By the Father's drawing men, we are to un- 
derstand his supplying whatever influence of his 
grace and Spirit are necessary to impress on men'& 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 165 

minds the evidences of his Son's mission. Unless 
God thus draw, no man will ever come to Christ, or 
believe on him. Settle this well in your minds, and 
at the same time, recollect that the passage doth not 
say, except the Father drag him, but, except the Father 
draw him. God saves no man, as a stock or stone, 
but as, a reasonable being, and a free agent. Those 
who come at the call of God, are represented in the 
text, as given to Christ, because it is through his 
blood alone they can be saved. God, by his Spirit, 
convincing of sin, righteousness, and judgment, those 
who acknowledge their iniquity and their need of, 
salvation, gives or refers them to Christ ; that is, he 
points them to Christ, as the Lamb of God who 
takes away the sin of the world. It is likely that \ 
our Lord may here also refer to a prediction in the 
2d Psalm ; " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the 
heathen for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts 
of the earth for a possession :" that is, thou shalt be 
Lord or owner of them, and they, as a possession, shall, 
be subject to thy power, laws, and authority. Having 
thus shown the manner in which we are enlightened, 
and the co-operation required on our part, he pro- 
ceeds to give the reviving assurance, that where a 
penitent soul approaches him, hungering for the 
bread of life, and thirsting for the water of salva- 
tion ; whatever his fears may be, he will by no means 
{send him away empty. 

In the further illustration of this subject, I design, 

I. To show, what we are to understand by coming 
to Christ; and. 



166 



Harris's sermons 



II. Encourage you to attempt it, by the certain 
success with which your efforts shall be crowned. 

I. And, first, I shall attempt to show what we are to 
understand by coming to Christ. 

To come to Christ, is the same with resorting to 
him as our declared Master, acknowledging ourselves 
his disciples, and believing his doctrines. It is ap- 
plying to him for. that salvation, of which he alone is 
the Author, and of which, we, by the drawings and 
enlightenings of the Father, by the Spirit, feel our- 
selves to be in need; To be a little more particu- 
lar — Coming to Christ for help, imports, first, a 
knowledge that we stand in need of help. " The 
whole need not a physician, but they that be sick." 
Never shall we come to Christ, till we feel, that we 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. 
Never shall we come to Christ, till we feel condemned 
by the law of God, and sensible that the wrath of 
God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteous- 
ness. For until we have such a knowledge of our 
disease, as to convince us that the help of creatures 
is vain, we never shall come to Christ. None come to 
Christ, till all other refuges fail them, and till they 
find that all other physicians are of no value. 

Coming to Christ, imports, secondly, the confiding 
the work of our salvation into his hands, and giving 
him employment in his saving offices, looking on him 
as able, willing, and ready to save. 

" I give up every plea beside, 
Lord, I'm condemn'd, but Chnst has died/' 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



1G7 



Thus the poet. — And thus again, 

" While full of anguish and disease, 
My weak, distemper'd soul, 
Thy love compassionately sees ; 
O let it make me whole !" 

My brethren, we may utter the language common 
to a penitent ; but it is impossible for us to give a cor- 
rect description of his real feelings. Suffice it to say, 
that he that comes to Christ, has humbling views of 
himself. He does not conceive himself to be a being 
of great importance : he is little and vile in his own 
eyes, nor does he think for one moment of meriting 
the favour of God. No ! no ! He sees that if he be 
saved at all, it will be of the free mercy of God in 
Christ Jesus. Indeed he has many heart-rending 
fears, and, like the lepers spoken of in the book of 
Kings, he saith, " If I go back I must die : if I go 
forward I can but- die:" I will, however, go to God, 
and if I perish it shall be at his feet. It is to such a 
trembling soul as is here described, that the kind 
assurance of divine mercy in the text is peculiarly 
refreshing.— Him that cometh unto ?ne, I will in no wis? 
cast out. 

II. In the view of this certain success, *I design, 
Secondly, to exhort you to come to Christ. 

The divine compassion of the blessed Redeemer 
is here represented to us under the notion of a me- 
taphor, taken from the distressing fears of a poor 
beggar, who, pressed with a sense of his wants, en- 
ters the house of a man of opulence. The poor man 



168 Harris's sermon^ 

• 

appears with all his sores, and the owner, far from 
treating him with asperity, w elcomes him, receives 
him kindly, and relieves his wants. So does Jesus. 
Never did he reject the suit of a penitent, however 
aggravated might have been his crimes. He is come to 
the house of mercy — he is lying at the threshold; 
the servants bid him. come in ; he obeys, and waits 
with trembling anxiety for the appearance of the 
master, doubtful whether he is to be received or re- 
jected. The master appears, and not only grants him 
his suit, but receives him into the number of his fami- 
ly. He alleges his unfitness, his unworthiness, his 
crimes, his ingratitude : no matter, all shall be blotted 
out through the blood of the Lamb, his name be en- 
rolled with those of the children, and on none of these 
accounts shall he be put out of the house. 

I acknowledge, my brethren, it looks almost like 
a profanation of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
to offer it to those who feel not their need of it. 
Yet as there may be some who labour under the pa- 
ralyzing fears of an awakened conscience, permit 
me to rehearse a few of the precious and balmy assu- 
rances of the Gospel. Thy sins, in number as the 
hairs of thy head, and in magnitude as mountains, 
make thee to fear and quake terribly. But what saith 
Christ, the great High Priest of our profession ? — 
" Fear not, thou worm Jacob, I am the First and the 
Last : I am he that liveth and was dead ; and behold, 
I am alive for evermore." Yes, I ever live to make 
intercession for thee : I have trodden the wine-press 
alone : mine own arm hath brought salvation' unto 
me, salvation for the lost. The Spirit of the Lord 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



169 



God is upon me ; he hath anointed me to preach good 
tidings to the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the 
broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, 
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound ; 
to comfort all that mourn ; and, by the blood of the 
covenant, to send forth the prisoner out of the pit 
where there is no water. But, says the trembling 
soul, I am entirely helpless. Thy helplessness, says 
the adorable Saviour, is no hinderance to my loving- 
kindness. I break not the bruised reed, I quench 
not the smoking flax : and to you, and to all who have 
nothing to pay, I distribute the wine and milk of the 
Gospel. But still the trembling soul is ready to say, 
I have sinned with a high hand, both against thy light 
and thy love. I know, says the blessed Friend of sin- 
ners, that thine iniquities are more in number than 
the hairs of thy head, and that they are a burden too 
heavy for thee to bear ; and therefore I have borne 
them for thee in my own body on the tree. I am the 
man that receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 
Fear not, I am with thee : be not dismayed, for I am 
thy God : my strength is sufficient for thee. Great 
as thy crimes are, poor mourner in Zion, I do not up- 
braid thee with them : come near me, that I may 
speak a word in season to thy weary spirit. Why 
standest thou afar oft? Come near, I say, that I may 
bless thee. Far from casting away thy confidence, 
which hath great recompense of reward, hold it fast. 
Why dost thou suspect the sincerity of my tender 
grace ? The general invitation which formerly passed 
my lips, is still the very language of my heart. Who- 
soever will, let him come and take of the water of 

22 



170 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 

life freely. Am I not Jesus still ? Is my love waxed 
cold ? Is mine arm shortened, that it cannot save, or 
my ear heavy, that it cannot hear ? Can a woman for- 
get her sucking child ? Yea, she may forget ; yet will 
I not forget thee. And if thou canst not take my 
word, believe my oath : as I live, I have no pleasure 
in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn 
from his way, and live. And if thou canst not believe 
my oath, credit these scars. See ! I have graven 
thee on the palms of my hands. By the mystery of 
my holy incarnation, and dreadful temptation; by my 
agony and bloody sweat; by my infamous death and 
glorious resurrection, I beseech thee, come to the 
pardoning God by me ; and if thou hast nothing to 
pay, I freely forgive the debt, whether it be fifty, or 
five hundred pence. 

These, O sinner, are the generous sayings of 
Christ to thee. You are not barely permitted to 
believe, but he freely invites you to do it. How, 
then, can we escape, if we neglect so great salva- 
tion ? What excuse wilt thou have, O sinner, if found 
out of Christ ? 



SERMON XVII, 



— -sfcfo^fc- 

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Ephes. iv. 30, 

To the care of the Gospel minister is entrusted the 
best interests of man. And while the politician ex- 
erts his talents to promote and defend the partial, 
monopolizing advantage of a small number of his 
fellow creatures; it behooves the ambassador of 
Christ, unfettered by the selfishness of party bicker- 
ings, either of church or state, to declare the whole 
counsel of God, and to send abroad all the wakeful- 
ness of a godly jealousy, that he may be enabled, at 
its first appearance, to discountenance sin, and pro- 
mote and encourage all virtue. 

The glorious scheme, to advance the object of 
which we are set apart from the world, has for its 
author the One True, and ever living God, the foun- 
tain of all being ; He who is self-existent and indepen- 
dent. It has for its object the salvation of all men ; 
and for this purpose God has made ample provision 
by the death of his Son ; who, though he was the 
only begotten of the Father, was most freely given 
up to die for sinners. The benefit of his death is 
offered and applied to us by the third person of the 
Godhead, who is called the Holy Spirit, or Holy 



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Ghost, to express the mode of his relation to the 
Father and Son, and because he, by spiritual methods, 
works spiritual qualities and affections within us. 

Of all the monstrous crimes which take root in the 
degeneracy of our nature, sure I am none can exceed, 
in enormity, that base ingratitude by which we shut 
out the light, resist the power, and stifle the motions 
by which the Holy Spirit attempts our salvation. 
You have, doubtless, heard of some, who, taken from 
obscurity by a pitying friend, and raised by him to a 
condition of ease and dignity, have requited their 
benefactor with contempt and insolence. You have 
heard of children, whose every want had been pre- 
vented by the persevering vigilance of tender pa- 
rents ; who nevertheless, on coming to years of matu- 
rity, so far from smoothing the bed of their declining 
old age, have rent their withered breasts with agoni- 
zing grief by a total disregard of their sage counsel, 
and a headlong precipitation into paths of profligacy 
and ruin. Sure I am, that public opinion, formed on 
principles of justice, must ever hold up such charac- 
ters as despised marks for the sharpest arrows of 
obloquy. 

My brethren, it is against such disingenuous con- 
duct that the apostle attempts to guard us in the text. 
You are all ready to say, God forbid that a crime so 
base should lie at my door ; to which petition I would 
give my hearty amen. But let us not flatter our- 
selves that we are clear in this matter. To many of 
us would the solemn appeal of the Divine and Holy 
Spirit apply, in all its humbling weight, " Hear, O 
heavens ; and give ear, O earth ; for the Lord hath 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



173 



spoken : I have nourished and brought up children, 
and they have rebelled against me." lsai. i. 2. : and 
elsewhere, " My people have committed two evils; 
they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters ; 
and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that 
can hold no water." Jer. ii. 13. Now, my brethren, 
we hojd that this conduct is disingenuous and un- 
wise ; and that it is also dangerous in the extreme to 
put by, or lightly esteem the calls of grace, and the 
motions of the Holy Spirit. And it is principally 
with a design to expose that danger, that I have cho- 
sen these words. 

It is well known to most of you, that the church, 
of which I have the honour to be a member and minis- 
ter, contends for what, in theology, is called free-will; 
yet not in that unlimited sense, in which some, 
through ignorance, and others through ill-will, w ould 
make us hold the doctrine. Our church hath judi- 
ciously expressed her sentiment on this doctrine in 
her 8th article. " The condition of man after the 
fall of Adam, is such that he cannot turn and* 
prepare himself by his own natural strength and 
works, to faith, and calling upon God : Wherefore we 
have no power to do good works, pleasant and accep- 
table to God, without the grace of God by Christ 
preventing us, that we may have a good will, and 
working with us, when we have that good will." 
What is man, delivered up to the sinfulness of his 
nature ? Revolted against God and his law, his incli- 
nations, in spite of himself, .drag him towards forbid- 
den objects, and he is wholly unable to wage success- 
ful war with self and sin. How can he, (sold under 



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sin, as he is, by nature) unaided by the Holy Spirit, 
shun the snares that are spread for him, the examples 
which entice him, the temptations which surprise 
him, the afflictions which discourage him, and the 
compliances which weaken him, together with that 
insupportable disgust which the duties of religion 
give him ? It is by the grace of Christ alone, that we 
can be supported in all these perils. It is by all the 
freshness of one continued energy, that we are able 
to make one step in the way of salvation, or to pro- 
gress in it. As, in the order of nature, we should in 
a moment return to nonenity, did the Almighty with- 
draw from us his vital energy ; so, in the order of 
grace, we immediately return to a state of sin and 
death, when the Spirit no longer strives with us. 

Now all this would not be so alarming, if we were 
assured that the Holy Spirit could not be so grieved 
as to withdraw his kindly help from us ; although it 
must be admitted, that our repeated abuses and 
neglect would be disingenuous in the extreme. But 
God hath said, " My Spirit shall not always strive 
with man." And it seems to me, my brethren, that 
nothing can be more just or equitable than the con- 
duct of the Almighty in this affair. When we neg- 
lect and reject the grace which is offered to us ; when 
we either totally refuse to obey the Gospel ; or pre- 
tending to obedience, reckon with the Almighty, and 
strive to fix upon the lowest point of saving obe- 
dience ; can we expect that a just God will multiply 
unto us the consolations of the Holy Spirit? No, 
such semi-Christians are already without real com- 
fort, and there is but one step between them and final 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



175 



apostacy. With these views your present condition 
alarms you, and you are ready to say, nothing woulcj 
please you so much, as a happy disengagedness from 
the world, and constant union with God. Be not de- 
ceived, my brethren ; you do not want holiness for its 
own sake ; you want it, because it alone can free you 
from those corroding fears which break your peace. 
If indeed you loved holiness for its own sake, you 
would no longer hesitate to sacrifice, on the altar of 
self-renunciation, every unsanctified disposition. I 
tell you plainly from God, that in order to persevere 
in his ways, you must give yourselves up to him with- 
out reserve, and close in with the Holy Spirit in 
serious efforts to weaken all the passions, and to 
nourish every virtue ; or that Spirit, which is already 
grieved by your indolence, will take his final depar- 
ture from you, and you will be left without power to 
do any thing for your salvation. 

Alas ! my brethren, what can the soul promise itself 
by allowed and indulged corruption ? Can the lamp, 
long without oil, continue to give light ; or the tree 
which no longer draws nourishment from the earth, 
fail to wither and die ? He has grieved the Holy 
Spirit till it has almost forsaken him. Tired with the 
yoke of Christ, and disgusted with himself ; weaken- 
ed by disease, and staggering at every step ; he leans 
towards his fall, almost entangled by the snare of the 
devil. What, O what is to prevent his eternal ruin ? 
Aye, of him as of Ephraim of old, it will soon be said, 
" He is joined to his idols ; let him alone." To ma- 
ny present, I fear it will, ere long be said, " I have 
called, and ye refused ; 1 have stretched out my hand, 



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and no man regarded ; but ye have set at nought all 
my counsel, and would none of my reproof : I also 
will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your 
fear cometh." 

The remarks already made, go to point out the 
danger of grieving the Holy Spirit of God. ^ I shall 
not be so likely to accomplish my design, (which, if 
I know my heart, is to benefit your souls) unless I 
speak something of the different ways in which the 
Holy Spirit is frequently grieved by us. 

It is easy to perceive that the word grieve, in- this 
place, is figurative. We cannot suppose that the Holy 
Spirit actually realizes any of that heart-rending sen- 
sation which mortals feel, and which they call grief. 
But as the veriest friend, by repeated slights may be 
grieved, and seek to shun our company ; so the con- 
duct in mortals which makes the visits of the Spirit 
less frequent in our hearts, and weakens his influence 
there, is, for want of a more appropriate term, called 
grieving the Holy Spirit. 

It may be plainly seen, I think, that the solemn 
caution in the text undermines the doctrine of bound- 
will For that bright intelligence, which we call the 
Holy Spirit, would never be grieved, or take its de- 
parture from a man, for that which he does as the re- 
sult of a decree, made by the Holy Spirit itself. It is 
by the abuse of a power which he gives us, we frus- 
trate the purposes of our salvation, and grieve him. 

There are many different ways in which we may 
grieve the Holy Spirit 

When God, of his infinite mercy, sends us his Gos 
pel, preached in the power and demonstration of th 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



177 



Holy Ghost, the Spirit, ever waits to attend it to the 
hearts and consciences of those who hear it. More 
than the yearning bowels of a mother's sympathy 
for her sick child, is realized, me thinks, by the Holy 
Spirit. O then, tell me, how must the good Spirit be 
grieved, when, instead of taking the wholesome pre- 
scriptions of the Gospel, we put it from us, and take 
poison in its place. — When, instead of receiving the 
Lord Jesus Christ by faith as our only Saviour, we 
reject him, and seek to drown all serious thought in 
gay company and dissipating amusements; as the 
ball, the circus, the theatre; from any of which 
places 1 defy you to bring away a mind as well pre- 
pared to worship God, as you carried there. 

When it pleases the Lord to lay his hand upon us 
to afflict us, either by the loss of friends, property, 
or health, and we refuse to see the hand that smites 
us, and to break off our sins by righteousness, that we 
may turn to God as our chief joy ; then must the Holy 
Spirit be grieved with our incorrigible and irreclaim- 
able obstinacy. 

When we, as professors of religion, begin to relax 
in the discharge of our duty, and content ourselves 
with the accommodating spirit of semi-Christianity, 
then is the Spirit grieved, and it flies us, with this 
serious interrogatory, " Have ye suffered so many 
things in vain ? Are ye so foolish, having begun in the 
Spirit, as to end in the flesh ?" 

In a word, there are ten thousand little yieldings to 
sin, and stiflings of the Divine Spirit, which we cannot 
describe or name, in which we grieve or weaken the 
influence of the Holy Spirit. 

23 



178 HARRIS'S SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



From what has been said, it appears that the 
divine Spirit is in the world, working on the minds of 
men to turn them from the power of darkness to God. 
How extensive his operations ! It further appears, 
that his aid is really required, to enable us to accom- 
plish the enterprize of salvation. How great should 
be our gratitude for his aid, and how serious are the 
consequences of obstinately rejecting it ! When our 
judgment tells us the necessity of religion, and the 
Spirit no longer aids us, how serious is our condition ! 
Let us close with its next offers ! 



SERMON XVIII. 



For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear ; 
but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we 
cry, Abba, Father. Rom. viii. 15. 

ThIS chapter opens with a reviving view of the pri- 
vilege of every Christian believer, which is height- 
ened by the view of its contrast ; that is, the state of 
an awakened soul, (described in the former chapter) 
whose only resource is in an infinite and violated law. 

There we hear the awakened sinner, with almost 
despairing anxiety, inquire, " O wretched man that I 
am, who shall deliver me from this body of death." 
But having received absolution, or being renewed by 
the Gospel energy, he breaks forth in the commence- 
ment of this chapter in this wise : " There is therefore 
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Je* 
sus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath 
made me free from the law of sin and death." Having 
introduced these two characters to represent the two 
dispensations, the apostle proceeds to enumerate and 



180 



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urge the strong obligations imposed on us Christians 
by the reign of grace, which he denominates, " the 
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," which makes 
the justified man free from the law of sin and death. 

Such being the effects of the gracious assistance 
promised in the Gospel, no person under the new 
covenant is irresistibly forced, either by the corrup- 
tion of his nature, or by outward temptation, to live 
according to the flesh. And, therefore, God has justly 
decreed, that all who live according to the flesh shall 
eternally die. " Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, 
not to live after the flesh — For if ye live after the 
flesh, ye shall die." 

Further, to correct the error of the Jews, who con- 
tended that no Qentile could obtain eternal life who 
did not obey the law of Moses, and to comfort the 
believing Gentiles, whom the Jews thus excluded 
from the mercy of God ; the apostle declares, that, 
according to the tenor of the new covenant, all who 
are led by the Spirit of God to mortify the deeds of 
the body, are the sons of God, whether they be Jews 
or Gentiles. And then, to define the genius of the 
new covenant, and to show the excellent disposition 
of the sons of God, whether they be Jews or Gen- 
tiles ; he declares, that they did not obey God from 
that slavish fear of punishment which was bred in 
the minds of the Jews by the curse of the law, but 
from the filial disposition of love and gratitude to 
their Father. For ye have not received the spirit of bon- 
dage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of 
adoption, whereby we cry, Jbba, Father." The sense of 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 181 

these words may be included in the observation, that 
the temper to which we are led by Christianity, is 
not such a servile spirit as prevailed under the law. 
In the consideration of this truth, I shall show, 

I. In what sense it is made the character of those 
under the law, to have received the spirit of bon- 
dage ; and of those under the Gospel,» to have re- 
ceived the spirit of adoption. 

II. How the Old Testament dispensation contri- 
buted to a servile spirit; and how, on the contrary > 
the Gospel leads to a filial temper; and, 

HI. How, therefore, our deliverance from the one, 
and our participation of the other, should influence 
us. 

I. And, first, we are to show, in what sense it is 
made the character of those under the law, to have 
received the spirit of bondage ; and of those under 
the Gospel, to have received the spirit of adoption. 

Let us define these two words, bondage and 
adoption. 

The common acceptation of the word bondage, is 
captivity, confinement, or servitude. But in a theo- 
logical sense, as in the text, it means a state of 
misery through fear of death. This was felt by those 
Jews who lived by a rule or law, which was encum- 
bered by many rites and ceremonies ; a law, by the 
breach of which, the Jew must be subject to bon» 



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dage, through the fear of death, ail his life time. Or 
the apostle, as he was speaking to the Gentiles, as 
well as the Jews, might refer to those burdensome 
rites and ceremonies to which the Gentiles had also 
to attend ; for they had their almost endless hosts of 
gods, and could not believe themselves secure of 
protection, while one of them, celestial, terrestrial, 
or infernal, was left unpropitiated. By adoption, un- 
derstand that action whereby a man takes a person 
into his family in order to make him a part of it, ac- 
knowledges him as his son, and gives him a right to 
the privileges of a child. God doth adopt his chil- 
dren, when he graciously admits strangers (as all the 
race of Adam are by nature) into the state of chil- 
dren through Jesus Christ, he becoming their father 
in him, according to the great promise of the new 
covenant. 

Having fixed the meaning of these two words, we 
proceed to observe, that when St. Paul said, ye have 
not received the spirit of bondage, but ye have received the 
spirit of adoption, he had reference to the different 
tendencies of the two dispensations, and the different 
tempers ordinarily manifest under them. It is true, 
many of the Old Testament saints manifested a filial 
temper; as the psalmist, when he said, 44 whom have 
I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth I 
desire in comparison with thee." But it was not by 
reason of any peculiar advantages attached to the 
dispensation, that he thus expressed himself; but 
through a peculiar manifestation of God's goodness. 
On the other hand, many of the New Testament 



ON IMPORTANT SUfiJftCTg. 



183 



Saints have manifested something of a servile spirit ; 
but not through any defect in the dispensation, but 
perhaps through their failure as relates to their high 
obligations. 

The apostle must have intended the same in this 
verse, as he did in the first verse of the chapter. 
" There is now therefore no condemnation to them 
who are in Christ Jesus." For ye have not received the 
spirit of bondage again to fear, hut ye have received the 
spirit of adoption, whereby tve cry, Abba, Father, 

We now proceed to show, as was proposed, 

II. How the Old Testament dispensation contri- 
buted to a servile spirit ; and how, on the contrary, 
the Gospel leads to a filial temper. 

And, first, the manner of the introduction of both 
of them was a natural prelude to the different tenden- 
cies of them. The glory appearing on Mount Sinai 
made the people afraid of death, saying, let not God 
speak to us any more, lest we die. Thus they 
received the spirit of bondage to fear; whilst we 
have given to us the spirit of power, and of love, 
and of a sound mind, and the spirit of adoption, 
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. And to this the apos- 
tle alludes in Hebr. xii. 18 to 24. " For ye are not 
come to the mount that might be touched, and that 
burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, 
and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the 
voice of words ; which voice they that heard entreat- 
ed that the word should not be spoken to them any 
more : (for they could not endure that which was 



184 



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commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the 
mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a 
dart : and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, 
1 exceedingly fear and quake :) but ye are come unto 
mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the 
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company 
of angels, to the general assembly and church of the 
first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God, 
the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new cove- 
nant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh 
better things than that of Abel." 

But, again, Moses, with all his glory, was only the 
minister of the law, written on tables of stone, which 
was called the ministration of condemnation. The 
apostles, and all real Gospel preachers, are ministers 
of the Gospel written on the hearts of all believers, 
accompanied by the Holy Spirit, which giveth life. 

The glory which Moses received at the giving of 
the law did more and more diminish, because his law 
was to vanish away ; but the glory which is received 
from Christ is an increasing glory, the doctrine and 
divine influence remaining for ever. 

But, again, the law was vailed under types and 
shadows, and encumbered with almost innumerable 
ceremonies. The Gospel has scarcely any ceremo- 
nies ; baptism and the Lord's supper being all that 
can be properly so called ; and believe, love and obey, 
the great precepts of the Gospel, are delivered with 
the greatest perspicuity : and indeed the doctrine of 
Christ crucified is as plain as language can make it 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



The Jews only saw the shining of Moses's face through 
a vail; but we behold the glory of the Gospel in the 
person of Christ, our Lawgiver, with open face; 
which glory is as a mirror, which reflects the image of 
Christ on believers, so that they are transformed into 
the same image. 

From what has been said, it is sufficiently manifest, 
that the Old Testament dispensation contributed to a 
servile spirit; and that, on the other hand, the 
New Testament dispensation leads to a filial temper. 
We proceed, therefore, as was proposed, to show, 

III. How our deliverance from the one, and partici- 
pation of the other, should influence us. 

And, first, it behooves us to see, that we have a 
filial temper ; by which I mean, such a temper as the 
obedient child of an affectionate father feels towards 
him — a temper befitting a son. Nor is this temper to 
lie dormant in the soul : it is to show itself on proper 
occasions. As our light is to shine before men, il 
should be manifest that we have received the spirit 
of adoption. Men may give a character of adoption, 
but it belongs to God alone to give the spirit of adop- 
tion, the nature of children. It is by this spirit that 
we cry, Abba, Father. Praying is here called crying, 
which is not only the earnest, but the natural expres- 
sion of desire. Children that cannot speak, vent 
their desires by crying. But in the text the children 
of adoption are said to cry, Abba, Father, (the one 
a Syriac, the other a Greek word) which denotes, 
that this adoption is common to both Jews and Gen- 

24 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



tiles or it may mark an affectionate and endearing 
earnestness in the petition, and a peculiar stress laid 
upon the relation. Little children in begging can say 
little beside Father, Father — but this is rhetoric 
enough. 

But if we avail ourselves of the advantages of this 
dispensation, and obtain the spirit of adoption, it will 
manifest itself in acts of worship. While we attend 
to the letter of St. Paul's precept, that is, not to for- 
sake the assembling of ourselves together, we are to 
observe that we have the temper of David, when he 
said, he " had rather be a door-keeper in the house 
of his God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." 
And again, " my soul longeth, yea, thirsteth for the 
living God;" and again, "whom have I in heaven 
but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire 
in comparison with thee." Let the subject be illus- 
trated by that common occurrence of familiar, and 
social or domestic life, I mean that willingness mani- 
fest on the part of a child to enter into the presence 
of his father, whom he is not conscious of having of- 
fended. To this circumstance the apostle seems to 
have had reference in our text. 

But this filial temper should be manifest by free- 
dom, when we approach our heavenly Father. Con- 
sidering the many promises of the Gospel by which 
we are made partakers of the divine nature, the ut- 
most freedom and the most unlimited confidence 
should be the result. For, said David, " the Lord 
inclined his ear, and hearkened unto me ; therefore 
will I call upon him as long as I live." And St. Paul 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



187 



exhorted the New Testament saints, to " draw near 
with true hearts in full assurance of faith:" — and 
again he saith, " Let us come with boldness to the 
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find 
grace to help in time of need." 

Again, we are to manifest this disposition in acts of 
obedience. The slave manifests a servile disposition, 
in the reluctance with which he complies with his 
master's commands. It is easy to see, that fear is 
with him the chief motive to obedience. Not so with 
the child. With David he can say, " O how love I 
thy law ;" and with St. Paul, His commandments are 
not grievous, but joyous. " My yoke is easy and my 
burthen is light," said Christ ; and this he knows by 
experience. Thy will be done, says the obedient 
child, even though it should assign to me affliction. 

Moreover this filial disposition is to be manifest in 
sorrow for sin. When does the ingenuous child feel 
such real compunction, as when he has offended his 
father ? I will venture to say, that he feels a sensation 
to which the servile slave is an utter stranger. 
When the child discovers in his father a disposition 
to forgive him, his misconduct is marked in blacker 
colours in his own estimation. My brethren, what 
do you suppose were the feelings of the prodigal, 
when his father was weeping on his neck ? O, is this 
my offended father ! Is it possible that he will re- 
ceive me ? Such language as this, expresses the ordi- 
nary feelings of an evangelical penitent. 

But again, this filial temper will appear in the man- 
ner in which we sustain affliction* This, whether 



18,8 Harris's sermons 

bodily or mental, will, by the child who discovers its 
end, be received with a willingness to which the 
slave is a stranger. To the suffering child the apos- 
tle's exhortation will not be thought unsuitable, " My 
Son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, 
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him : for whom 
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourge th every 
son whom be receiveth. If ye endure chastening, 
God dealeth with you as with sons : for what son is 
he whom the father chasteneth not ? But if ye be 
without chastisement, whereof all . are partakers, 
then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, 
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, 
and we gave them reverence ; shall we not much 
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and 
live ? For they verily for a few days chastened us 
after their own pleasure ; but he for our profit, that 
we might be partakers of his holiness. Now, no 
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the 
peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which 
are exercised thereby. 

But the filial temper will show itself by studious 
assimilation of mind and manners. Nothing is more 
dignified in the estimation of the affectionate child, 
than to imitate his father in walk, speech, and beha- 
viour. And there are no prayers offered up more 
fervently by the New Testament saint, than those in 
which he begs for conformity to his heavenly Father 
in all things. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



Once more, the filial temper is manifest, in loving 
those who appear to be children of the same parent, 
" For if we love him who begat," surely " we shall 
love those who are begotten :" for if we say we love 
God, and do not love our brethren, we lie, and do 
not the truth." Nor will we, in defining the term bre- 
thren, suffer it to mean only those of our own church : 
Christian forbearance and love will extend to all who 
love the Lord Jesus in deed. 

I will only add, this temper M ill be shown in regard 
to dying. The dying Christian will consider, that 
God, his Father, when he sends death for him, only 
sends for him his chariot, paved with love, to take 
him from school below, into his immediate presence 
above, there to dwell and inherit the patrimony of 
eternal glory. 

We pause for a moment to contemplate the privi- 
leges we enjoy in this glorious dispensation. I look 
back, and I behold the ancient saints ascend the hill 
of prophetic vision, and view the glories of this dis- 
pensation : I hear them groan with desire to see the 
day that we see ; but they die without the sight. But 
blessed are our ears, for they hear ; and our eyes, for 
they see : " the lines have fallen to us in pleasant 
places, and we have a goodly heritage" among the 
host of nations. Permit me to ask, whether we have 
been benefited by the Gospel blessings, which God 
has dealt out to us with so bountiful a hand ? This 
question will appear still more important, if we con- 
sider what the Scripture saith ; that the Gospel is the 
savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. 



190 Harris's sermons important subjects. 

Again, I ask what sin you have mortified or subdued^ 
that you would not have done under the darker dis- 
pensations? Have you not been satisfied with a 
smaller portion of holiness, than was possessed by 
the Old Testament saints ! Indeed have not some of 
you satisfied yourselves without any holiness at all ? 
Are there not some present who know nothing of real 
holiness, and have not the smallest desire to obtain 
it? Surely the Ninevites shall rise up in judgment 
with the men of this generation ; for they repented 
at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than 
Jonah is here. It shall be more tolerable for Sodom 
and Gomorrah than for this people. — I s he queen of 
the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men 
of this generation. 

Christians, let us avail ourselves of the advantages 
of this dispensation. O let us cultivate a filial temper. 
Let God be the object of our hearts' delight. — Let us 
come to the throne of grace with boldness — let us 
obey God with cheerfulness— let our sorrow for sin be 
evangelical — let us sustain affliction with pleasure- 
let us assimilate to the divine perfections — let us 
love our brethren with true hearts fervently — and 
let us wait with patience the happy moment when 
this tabernacle shall fall, and we shall go to the build- 
ing of God, eternal in the heavens. 



SERMON XIX 



But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eter- 
nal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered 
awhile, make you perfect ; stablish, strengthen, settle you, 
1 Pet. v. 10. 

In these words, as also throughout both of his epis- 
tles, the apostle breathes an affectionate solicitude for 
the Christians t© whom he wrote. They had lately 
been converted to the faith, and he was greetly 
anxious, that, as obedient children, they should not 
fashion themselves according to the former lusts in 
their ignorance, but as he who had called them was 
holy, that they also should be holy in all manner of 
conversation. He wished it to appear to all the Gen- 
tiles among whom they were scattered, that Christi- 
anity wrought the most excellent effects, and that its 
votaries were made a chosen generation, a royal 
priesthood, a peculiar people, to show forth the 
praises of him who had called them out of darkness 
into his marvellous light. 

The counsels and exhortations of the Epistle are 
such as we might reasonably expect from a man of 
God ; who. though he was not insensible of the weak- 



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ness of man, in this his enfeebled condition, was 
nevertheless fully sensible of the sin-subduing power 
of grace divine, and the mighty energy of the Holy 
Ghost While he proposed to his brethren duties 
the most difficult, he urged them to their perform- 
ance by motives best understood by those whose faith 
reached within the vail. 

Having, with the highest prospects, and the most 
influential motives, attempted the edification of the 
Church, and the perfecting of the people of God ; 
he closes his first epistle, by offering up the solemn 
and very appropriate prayer contained in the words 
of our text, namely, that the God of all grace — the God 
from whom every good and perfect gift descends — 
the God who sows the seeds of grace, gives them in- 
crease, and brings them to perfection — that God, who 
of his great mercy had called them, being Gentiles, 
to equal privileges with the Jews here, and eternal 
glory hereafter through his well-beloved Son, Jesus 
Christ — the God of unsearchable wisdom and almighty 
power, would grant them — what ? An entire deli- 
very from every trial ? Did he pray that they might 
know nothing of affliction ? That they might enjoy, 
without interruption, both outward and inward tran- 
quillity ? No, my brethren, this was not the petition 
of one who had been taught to register affliction as 
one of the most valuable items in the Christian inhe- 
ritance. He well knew that 



iJ Adversity is virtue's school 
To those who right discern,' 1 " 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



193 



He, therefore, prayed that God would sanctify afflio 
tions to their good, and make use of them as a mean 
to mature their graces, and to prepare them after 
they had been made perfect through them, to enjoy, 
with a peculiar or heightened zest, that rest which re- 
mains for the people of God. — But it is time to divide 
the subject 

I. We will notice the matter or thing requested or 
expressed, in the following brief words, Make you 
perfect; stablish, strengthen, settle you. 

To encourage us to hope for an answer, we will 
notice, 

II. The Being to whom the prayer is offered — 
The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal 
glory by Christ Jesus. 

And as it is good for a man not only quietly to 
hope, but also patiently to wait for the salvation of 
God; 

III. I shall speak of the time when we are to re- 
ceive our reward ; after that ye have suffered awhile. 
Here is our place. O that God, this day, may bless 
his own word, for Christ's sake ! 

I. We are to notice the matter or thing requested, 
which is expressed in these brief words, Make you 
perfect ; stablish, strengthen, settle you. I shall speak of 
them as they stand. 

What do we understand of perfection, in a Gospel 
sense, a& it relates to the soul of man ? Here it will be 

25 



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necessary to speak with modesty and caution, and be 
very careful that we do not deviate from the oracles 
of God. I shall not give the opinions of different 
sects of religionists, but shall give you my own, 
founded, as I think, on the word of God. What then, 
did St. Peter mean, when he said, the God of all grace 
make you perfect ? Perhaps he meant what St. Paul 
did, when he prayed that his brethren might be ena- 
bled to comprehend, with all saints, what is the length, 
and breadth, and depth, and height; and to know 
the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that they 
might be filled with all the fulness of God. 

But the question recurs, What did St. Paul mean, 
or what is the Scriptural notion of perfection ? 1st, 
It implies complete instruction in all the fundamental 
doctrines of the Gospel. 2d, Complete purification of 
the heart, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and 
obedience to the truth. 3d, Complete union with 
God and Jesus Christ, through the Spirit. 4th. And 
complete love of the brethren. But is this degree 
of grace attainable in this life ? I think it is, or our 
Saviour would not have said, Matt. v. 48. "Be 
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is 
in heaven is perfect which words include both 
a promise and a command. Here the question ^ay 
be asked, Can we be fully saved from sin in this 
world ? The text above quoted gives a satisfac- 
tory answer, " Ye shall be perfect as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect." As in his infinite 
nature, there is no sin, nothing but goodness and love, 
so, in your finite nature, there shall dwell no sin, for 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



195 



the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus shall make 
you free from the law of sin and death." God shall 
dwell in, fill, and rule your hearts, and when this is 
the case, Satan can have no part. Will you slight 
your own mercies, and cry out, this is impossible ? In 
so saying do you not reproach the Almighty with 
having given a commandment, the fulfilment of which 
is impossible ? "But who can bring a clean thing out of 
an unclean ?" I answer, God Almighty : and however 
inveterate the disease of sin may be, the grace of our 
Lord Jesus can fully cure it. And who can say, that 
he who has laid down his life for our souls, will not 
use his power completely to effect that salvation 
which he died to procure ? But, say you, where is 
the person who is thus saved ? I answer, wherever 
he is found who loves God with all his heart, mind, 
soul and strength, and his neighbour as himself. And 
for the honour of Christianity and its Author, may we 
not hope there are many such in the Church of God, 
not known by any profession of this kind which they 
make, but by a surer testimony, that of uniformly 
holy tempers, piety to God, and beneficence to man. 

The apostle, then, in the words of our text, prayed 
as an inspired man, when he besought the God of all 
grace, to place every faculty, passion, and appetite, in 
its proper place, so that the original order, harmony, 
unity, and purity of the soul might be restored, and 
the whole builded up into a habitation of God through 
the Spirit. 

But it is time to notice the remaining words of the 
petition, viz. stablish, strengthen, settle you. In this mode 



196 



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of expression the apostle appears to speak in the 
first place, in the aggregate, through the warmth of 
feelings ; and then to go back, as it were, in order to 
specify the different parts of the complete whole. 
Or possibly he might intend to convey an idea of that 
unceasing progress, which, so far from being super- 
seded by what we denominate Christian perfection, is 
thereby greatly accelerated. The words here cho- 
sen seem to express the great importance of the pe- 
tition, and the earnest desire of the apostle. When 
he prayed, then, that God would stablish them, he em- 
braced in that part of the petition an antidote against 
that inward lightness and inconstancy which are 
natural to us, and those counterblasts of persecution 
and opposition, which we, as soldiers of the cross, 
may expect to realize, more or less, while we stay in 
this world. « The double minded man is unstable in 
all his ways." Happy the man, whose hand of faith 
is so fastened on God, that he can 

" Bid earth roll, nor feel the idle whirl." 

But he next prays that God would strengthen them. 
Here he certainly adverts to the growth of their 
graces, the necessity of which is implied in almost 
innumerable passages ; as in Ezekiel's vision of the 
holy waters ; or our Lord's metaphor of the corn in 
its different stages, first the blade, then the ear, after 
that, the full corn in the ear ; or St. Peter's exhorta- 
tion, " besides this, giving all diligence, add to your 
faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to know- 
ledge temperance," &c. ; and elsewhere, " as new- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



197 



born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that 
ye may grow thereby." O how important that we 
should assault the throne of grace with holy boldness, 
that by daily receiving fresh supplies of grace, we 
may grow up into Christ our living Head in all things. 

Brethren, have you grown in any degree since 
ye were born again ? If not, when, I would ask, do 
you expect to come to the measure of the fulness of 
the stature of men in Christ Jesus ? 

Yet again the apostle prays that God would settle 
the Christians. This, though it seems to be the same 
in substance with the other word, stablish, adds some- 
what to it. It signifies to found or fix on a sure foun- 
dation ; and doubtless has reference to Him who is 
the foundation and strength of believers, on whom 
they build by faith. Happy the man, whose hopes 
rest on this foundation ; for other foundation can no 
man lay. 

We have done with the first head, and we proceed 

II. To notice the Being to whom the prayer is ad- 
dressed — The God of all grace, who hath called us unto 
eternal glory by Christ Jesus. 

The genius of prayer is very conspicuous in the 
words. Prayer is intended not only to express our 
wants, but our confidence in God, without which we 
cannot pray in faith : hence in our Lord's prayer it is 
said, "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the 
glory," &c. 

The apostle proposes the perfections, glory, and 
grace of God, which grace they had already realized, 



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as incentives to the most unbounded hope. First, he 
saith, the God of all grace, by way of eminence — the 
God who is goodness in the abstract, and as commu- 
nicative as he is good — the God who is the bestower 
of life, spiritual and eternal life, the blest preliba- 
tions of which he had already communicated unto 
them, and therefore left them no room to doubt that, 
the residue of the Spirit being with him, he would 
pour it on them without measure. He goes on, 
who hath called us unto his eternal glory — who hath called 
us, deaf Gentiles, idolatrous people. But to what 
had he called them ? — why, to glory ; not only so, but 
it was to eternal glory ; not only so, but to His eternal 
glory. He did not make free with the property of 
another, but his eternal glory is the boon conferred on 
the Christian soldier. Behold, Christian, the motive 
contained in the last sentiment, by Christ Jesus, " God 
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life." 

" Survey the wondrous cure, 

And at each step let higher wonder rise ! 

Pardon for infinite offence ! and pardon 

Thro' means that speak its value infinite ! 

A pardon bought with blood ! with blood divine ! 

With blood divine of him I made my foe ! 

Persisted to provoke ! tho' woo'd and aw'd, 

Bless'd and chastis'd, a flagrant rebel still : 

A rebel 'midst the thunders of his throne ! 

Nor I alone ! a rebel universe ! 

My species up in arms ! not one exempt ! 

Yet for the foulest of the foul he dies." 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



199 



And can we give place to the surmises of unbelief, 
and fear that God will not, with his Son, also freely 
give us all things ! When we consider salvation as 
the work of God, and at the same time reflect on the 
promises and the power of God, we shall surely then 
open our mouths wide, with an expectatio* that thej 
shall be filled. 

" Thy love I soon expect to find, / 
In all its depth and height ; 
To comprehend th' eternal mind. 
And grasp the infinite." 

But we will proceed to notice, 

III. The time when we are to receive our reward, 
After that ye have suffered awhile. 

But it is said, that " hope deferred maketh the heart 
sick why then did he say, after that ye have suffered 
awhile. Perhaps he had an allusion to their actual 
situation, which was a very afflicting one, and he 
might wish them to understand, that it was no unfa- 
vourable symptom, and that God was able to sanctify 
it to the perfecting of them in love. But it is more pro- 
bable that he was bringing into view the high genius 
of the Gospel, whose glorious Author was made per- 
fect through suffering. Considering it to be a great 
thing to be conformed to Christ, like St. Paul, he 
would give them to understand, that it was their pri- 
vilege to take pleasure in affliction. There is no his- 
tory recorded of any man who got to heaven other- 



200 



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wise than through tribulation ; nor did he expect or 
wish them to go a different route. The hour of suf- 
fering and affliction is the good man's brightest scene. 
An aged saint could say, " it is good for me that I 
have been afflicted." St. Paul, speaking of his afflic- 
tions, and those of his brethren, saith, " We are trou- 
bled on every side, yet not distressed ; we are per- 
plexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not for- 
saken ; cast down, but not destroyed ; always bearing 
about in the body the marks of the Lord Jesus ;" for 
this special end, " that the life also of Jesus might be 
made manifest in our body." 

Glorious religion of my divine Redeemer ! It turns 
my loss to my gain. So far from being overcome by 
my adversaries, I shall conquer, though I die ; and this 
I know, that each painful step matures my graces, 
and fits me for my passage. Let us then imitate the 
dying martyr, who continued to repeat, " Welcome 
cross of Christ," till the fire was just about to take 
away his life ; and then exclaimed, " Welcome crown 
of life." 

The words of the text, taken in the light in which 
we have considered them, bring into view a grade 
in religion, to which, doubtless, many have not attain- 
ed, and which some perhaps may think not attain- 
able ; and that the apostle, in the glow of his zeal, 
and the ardour of his affection, expressed things that 
surpass the Christian's privilege. But was the apostle 
inspired, or was he not, when he penned the petition ? 
If he was not, the petition is no part of the Scrip- 
tures. If he was inspired, the petition is equivalent 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



201 



to a promise : for what the Almighty inspires us to 
pray for, he will surely bestow upon us, if we conti- 
nue to ask. That you may do this, let me beseech 
you again to consider to whom the Christian offers 
his petition. 

" The stream to which my spirit flies, 
Can make jhe wounded whole I'* 

Brethren, are there not some present who are not 
mere novices in religion? Already has the devil 
thrust often at you ; • already have you been the butt 
of ridicule to the wicked ; already have you suffered 
reproach and persecution. Have you then suffered 
so many things in vain, if it be yet in vain ? Do you 
not now begin to comprehend, with all saints, what is 
the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of 
God's love ? If you have thus felt the good effects of 
affliction, you indeed are prepared in every thing to 
give thanks. Nay, I am persuaded you do not wish 
your sufferings less, while you read it thus recorded : 
— " Our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, 
work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory." Blessed be God ! there is a rest remain- 
ing for the people of God. 

But sinner, or ungodly man, I must present to you 
the Gospel glass ! Are you perfect : or has the work 
of perfection even begun ? What ! you perfect, and 
entirely unrenewed ! You perfect, and destitute of 
union with God ! You perfect, and destitute of love 
for God's people ! You perfect, while all your passions 
are disordered, and your affections flowing after 

26 



202 HARRISES SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



earthly objects! What, you Sabbath-breaker, you 
adulterer, are you stablished! You extortioner, are you 
settled! You swearer and drunkard, strengthened. ! Are 
you really religious ! I have not so learned Christ. 
If I were to speak my opinion, I should say, You are 
of your father the devil, whose works you do. And, 
considering the terror of the Lord, and the shortness 
of time, I call on you, O immortal man, to repent be- 
fore it be too late. Why, O why will you procrasti- 
nate a work of such infinite moment ? Think, O think, 
before it be too late ! 



SERMON XX. 



Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out 
my hand, and no mm regarded ; but ye have set at 
nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I 
also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your 
fear cometL Prov. i. 24, 25, 26. 

In this chapter we have the plain instructions of 
wisdom, or of Jesus Christ, as the word and wis- 
dom of God, the great Prophet of the church, and 
Light of the world. Whether the sacred writer in- 
tended expressly to prophesy of the Messiah, or whe- 
ther the Israelites would generally consider Christ as 
the speaker, in these addresses, needs not to be de- 
termined. To us who have the New Testament for 
our guide, it is by far the most simple manner of con- 
sidering the subject, and it gives the exhortation of 
wisdom a peculiar majesty and emphasis. 

Christ, by his own personal ministry, and by that of 
his apostles and evangelists, and ever since, by the 
true and zealous ministers of the Gospel, hath ad- 



204 



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dressed himself to sinners in the most earnest and 
public manner. We are not to regard these words 
in the light of a definitive decree, by which the 
Almighty word and wisdom would notify the Jews 
that their crimes were already filled up, and that they 
could no longer benefit by the mercy of God. I say, 
we are not to conceive of them as conveying this 
meaning ; but to regard them as a threat, which de- 
clared* to the Jews, in the first place, and still declares 
to all men of succeeding ages, what is to be appre- 
hended by persisting in obstinacy and unbelief. And 
is it not enough to fill the mind with horror, that it is 
the menace ©f God, who never speaks in vain — who 
never speaks from passion — who never speaks with- 
out unbounded knowledge : but who penetrates into 
the recesses of the heart, beholds the whole prospect 
of futurity, and foresees the catastrophe of our mor- 
tal life ; this strikes me, my hearers, and should like- 
wise strike you, with horror and dismay; for the 
Almighty hath nothing more terrible in the treasures 
of his wrath, than that with which he will punish the 
contemner of his grace. And from this considera- 
tion it imports us to catch at every possible means of 
preservation. 

The three grand features of the text are, 

I. The mercy of God. 

II. The wickedness, ingratitude, and folly of man. 

IIL And the just and dreadful consequences of his 

sins. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 20b 



I hope God will enable us to treat these topics in 
such wise, as to produce in you true repentance, and 
a serious desire to flee the wrath to come. O God f 
teach my fingers to fight ! 

I. And first, 1 design to make some observations on 
the mercy of God, and of Christ, displayed in the 
Gospel-plan of salvation. This mercy of which we 
would speak, is referred to in these words, counsels, 
calls, reproofs, and stretching out the hand, I do not 
purpose to speak of that benevolence, which caused 
the Deity to go out of himself, as it were, in the crea- 
tion of the world ; but I shall speak of that grace to 
which the apostle refers, where he says, " Ye know 
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he 
was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye 
through his poverty might be rich." 

It will not be necessary to enter into a formal detail 
of the arguments that relate to the fall of man; 1 
shall content myself with saying, that by transgres- 
sion man has become obnoxious to divine wrath, 
which is revealed from heaven against all ungodli- 
ness. To deliver us from this wretchedness and mi- 
sery, what was required ? Was it enough that God 
or Christ should only look on, and then pass by on 
the other side ? No, my brethren, it became neces- 
sary that he should stretch forth his hand. To deliver 
us from our sins he must bear them ; to terminate our 
sorrows, he must carry them; the chastisement of 
our peace must be upon him: and by his stripes 
alone can we be healed, There may be some, perad- 



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venture, who would die for their friend, but this is the 
extent of human love. But Christ hath commended 
his love to us, in that, while we were enemies, he laid 
down his life for us. This, my brethren, was not a 
sacrifice which cost him nothing. This was stretch- 
ing out the hand indeed. 

By this expression, moreover, we are to understand 
the free and earnest offers of the Gospel. In addition 
to this, while we are on this topic, we would speak 
also of the counsel of the Lord ; by which we are to 
understand, his will and doctrine concerning the way 
of salvation, the direction of his word, the motions of 
his Spirit, and the guidance of his providence. God, 
of his mercy, also calls sinners to a state of salvation : 
this he doth by the preaching of the word, and the 
operations of the Holy Spirit. And where is the man 
or woman to be found to whom the greatest persua- 
sions have not been addressed, from one or the other 
of these sources ? The glorious Gospel you have re- 
peatedly heard, and the Spirit has often attempted to 
seal instruction on your hearts. Well may Jesus say, 
/ have called, — Yes, by ten thousand mercies has he 
called us. 

Under the head of the mercy of God we would 
mention his reproofs: and it is a crime of no less 
atrocious character, to sin against the reproofs of 
the Almighty, than to resist motives of repentance 
proposed by his love. 

The Almighty sometimes reproves us by chastise- 
ments : and though he commonly uses milder means, 
yet when we are stubborn and refractory, he some- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



207 



times uses the rod. But the most common method in 
which the Almighty reproves us, is by his Spirit, and 
by his vicegerent in our own bosoms, which never 
fails to reprove us, till, by our repeated abuse of its 
admonitions, it is entirely murdered or seared. When 
we reflect on the death of Christ, the counsels of his 
word, the many calls of his grace, and the fatherly 
chastisements of his rod ; we are forced to acknow- 
ledge the justice of his claim to our attention, grati- 
tude, and love. But we shall see, (speaking after the 
manner of men) how his just expectation is disap- 
pointed ; while under the second head we speak, 

II. Something of the wickedness, ingratitude, and 
folly of man. 

The best and briefest method to be followed, in 
disclosing the sinfulness, ingratitude, and folly of 
man, is to resume the various items of the divine 
mercy, referred to under the former head. 

If, my brethren, by an act of unparalleled love, 
Jesus Christ poured out his soul as an offering for 
sin; judge ye what must be the character of that in- 
gratitude and guilt by which we profane his love, and 
trample under foot the blood of the covenant. And 
I would ask, if this is not done by every one, who 
refuses the offers of grace, so freely made in the 
Gospel ? Moreover, if infinite wisdom, seeing our ig- 
norance, has been pleased, graciously pleased, to 
afford us the counsels of his word, his Gospel and 
Spirit ; is it not the height of wickedness and folly, 
to set at nought that counsel, and shut our eyes 



20H 



Harris's sermon* 



against that light? And are not those who slight the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and refuse to obey his doctrines, 
guilty of this sin ? Judge ye. 

If it hath pleased the Lord to call us with a holy 
calling; if his Word, Spirit, and ministers address us, 
and in our wretchedness, solicit us to receive the 
grace which was procured by the death of Christ ; 
if it hath pleased God to station his vicegerent in our 
bosoms, which, at the moment we sin, reproaches us ; 
if, with the bounty of a God, he loads the rolling 
year, and attempts to conquer us by his goodness ; 
what black ingratitude must mark the conduct of 
those who refuse the calls of the gracious Redeemer, 
to follow after vanity and lies ? How deep must be 
their guilt, who stifle the emotions of conscience, in 
order that they may sin without remorse ? What do 
you think of those, who, after they have received all 
the blessings of heaven, after all, 1 say, give just 
cause to the Almighty to say, " Hear, O heavens ! 
and give ear, O earth ! I have nourished and brought 
up children, and they have rebelled against me." 

Do not think that this reproach applies only to the 
Jews ; depend upon it, my brethren, every man who 
enjoys the blessings of Providence, without habitual 
gratitude ; every unconverted man in this assembly, 
gives the Almighty just cause to say, / have called, 
e have refused. 
Once more, if it hath pleased the Almighty to 
attempt to wean us from the trifling toys of this world 
by poisoning your delights ; if, by affliction and dis- 
cipline, he has attempted to embitter sin, and we? 



■ 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



Un- 



like stubborn children, have remained hard, and 
would none of his reproofs, have we not manifested a 
spirit of the most desperate wickedness ? And are 
we not guilty of the most atrocious wickedness? 
What, then, shall we say of those, who, notwithstand- 
ing the many chastisements they have received, the 
many privations they have endured, and the many 
tears they have shed on the graves of their nearest 
friends ; nevertheless will not consider the hand that 
smites them, that they may renounce their sins by 
righteousness, and return to God as their chief joy ? 
Are not these the characters referred to in the text, 
where eternal Wisdom saith, Ye would none of my 
reproofs ? The^ sins to which reference is made in the 
text, are the same of which we are guilty. And may 
we not apprehend the most fatal consequences, if we 
persist in our ingratitude, disobedience, and folly ? 
We can surely expect nothing less, my brethren, if we 
attend for one moment to the solemn threat contained 
in the text ; / will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock 
when your fear cometh. 

This leads to the third thing to be considered, 
namely, 

HI. The just and dreadful consequences of man's 
sin. 

My brethren, vice, for a while, may triumph, and sin 
may, for a short time, go unpunished ; but by the de- 
cree of infinite holiness, sin, sooner or later, must be 
punished. Nor shall the sins to which we have 

27 



2U 



Harris's sermons 



pointed in the foregoing part of this discourse, meet 
with light punishment. 

The expressions used to assist our minds in form- 
ing some sort of notion of it, are strong and forcible. 
It is said, that the sinner shall be assaulted by cala- 
mity : that is, grievous affliction and real anguish, at 
which the Almighty saith he will laugh; that is, he will 
sneer at them, and disregard all their cries and tears. 
It is said, " their fear shall come upon them that 
is, that punishment which they feared, and which fol* 
lows a life of guilt, shall overtake them ; while God 
shall mock : — that is to say, he shall bring on them, 
without pity, the heaviest strokes of his vengeance. 

But when shall the time of this calamity arrive ? 
The mind seems to shoot forward to the day of the 
sinner's death. We are necessarily led to infer, from 
the text, that those who, during life, have abused the 
calls and offers of grace, shall finally perish without 
remedy. Here one may be ready to ask, will he not 
at least have the opportunity of a death-bed repen- 
tance ? That the sinner may repent on his death-bed, 
I do not dispute ; but whether it will be a repentance 
which will turn away the anger of God, I greatly dis- 
pute. For, my brethren, it is contrary to the divine 
order, that a man should live all his days in sin, and 
then, after all, be saved by mere mercy. I cannot 
tell what may be the opinion of others on this sub- * 
ject; but 1 think the salvation of a man, who is 
stretched on his dying bed, and who has never before 
repented of his sins, is extremely doubtful for the 



©jtf IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



211 



following reasons. First, because nothing is more 
difficult than real repentance. Secondly, because 
true repentance is at no time more difficult than at 
the hour of death. Thirdly, because of all those, 
who find it hard to repent at the hour of death, they 
find it to be the hardest, who have neglected it 
through their whole lives. These, my brethren, are 
three incontestable propositions, to which we will 
| devote a few moments' reflection. 

1. Nothing is more difficult than real repentance. 
True repentance implies a total change of heart. A 
man, to repent, must hate himself, must renounce him- 

i self, must divest himself of every thing, must destroy 
i in himself the old man, must reduce himself to a 
state of annihilation : — that is, he must cease to be 
what he was, and he must become entirely a new- 
man. He must conceive an abhorrence for what 
appeared most pleasing, and an affection for what he 
most abhorred. He must indulge no passion but for 
inward resistance ; all the senses must be held in cap- 
tivity ; his mind must be reduced to perfect submis- 
sion ; and his body exercised in spiritual warfare and 
mortification. This is the essence and ground-work 
of Christian repentance. Can this be attained with- 
out great difficulty ? 

2. True repentance is at no time more difficult 
than at the hour of death. My brethren, what can 
grace do, all powerful as it is, when aature, which 
ought to co-operate, is unable to act ? To say nothing 
of those symptoms by which the reasoning faculties 
appear to be entirely beclouded, the loss of strength, 



212 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



and pain of body, are generally sufficient, of them- 
selves, to deprive the. mind of all reflection, and con- 
sequently to close up the way of repentance. Besides, 
at the hour of death, it is not you who abandon sin, 
it is sin that abandons you ; it is not you who abandon 
the world, it is the world which abandons you ; it is 
not you who break your chains, but your chains are 
broken by the general dissolution of nature. Now, 
brethren, repentance, to be acceptable, must be vo- 
luntary ; but this voluntary renunciation of the world, 
self, and sin, is seldom realized on a death-bed. 

3. But of all who find it hard to repent at the hour 
of death, they find it the hardest, who have totally 
neglected it during the whole course of their lives. 
It seems to me impossible, that such characters can 
feel any other repentance, than that of constraint and 
that of nature ; and these are qualities of repentance 
peculiar to devils in hell, and sinners at their death. 
Surely, my brethren, he who condemns the sins of his 
life, because he is under the necessity of quitting 
them, gives, unequivocal proof that his repentance is 
not from good will, but from constraint. Again, such 
repentance is only natural, because it hath neither 
God nor sin for its object. Of what are such peni- 
tents afraid ? Are they afraid of losing God, or of dis- 
pleasing God? No, my brethren, nothing of this na- 
ture troubles them ; for so long as they had nothing 
else to fear, they did not spend one thought about con- 
version to him. Theirs, then, is the repentance of 
nature, or of self-love. This inference disturbs you ; 
but is it I who make it ? Or could I suppress, or 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



213 



weaken it, without betraying my ministry, or blotting 
out of the Gospel what is written there ? 

I know, my brethren, that what is impossible with 
man, is possible with God : I know that it is possible 
for him to work repentance in our hearts, even at 
death : I know that this was the case with the cele- 
brated penitent, who was crucified with Jesus : he 
lived in sin, and died in grace. But I also know that 
those were the times of miraculous operations, when 
God was engaged to perform wonders, in order to do 
honour to the death of his Son. And I also know, 
that this conversion, which has passed for a singular 
example in all ages of the Christian church, is calcu- 
lated to fill the impenitent sinner rather with fear, 
than with presumptuous courage. 



SERMON XXI 



Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it 
is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And 
forgive us our debts, as ive forgive our debtors. And 
lead us not into temptation ; but deliver us from evil: For 
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Amen. Matthew vi. 9, 10, 11. 12, 13. 

PRAYER is a duty which involves the whole com* 
pass of our intercourse with God. It includes our 
adoration of his perfections ; our acknowledgment 
of the wisdom of his dispensations, and our obliga- 
tions for his benefits, both temporal and spiritual ; to- 
gether with the avowal of our entire dependance on, 
and the declaration of our faith in him. Prayer is a 
conversation with God, in which the soul, admitted 
and introduced (if I may so express it) into the sanc- 
tuary of God, lays her wants before the Deity; repre- 
sents her weakness, discovers her temptations, and 
begs pardon for her unfaithfulness. Prayer may, with 



« 



HARRIS" S SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 21 § 

propriety, be termed the dialect of the poor in spirit * 
and 1 cannot conceive how a man, who is taught of 
God, and professes to teach others, can neglect to 
offer up prayer, according to the example of St. Paul 
and Jesus Christ, with and for those to whom he dis- 
penses the instructions of the Gospel. Our Lord, in 
his sermon on the Mount, which may well be deno- 
minated an assemblage of doctrinal perfection, gives 
a complete form of prayer; not, as I conceive, to the 
utter exclusion of all other words, for we have many 
of the subsequent prayers of the apostles recorded* 
in which they do not follow this form to the letter : I 
conceive, however, that it is a pattern, according te 
which all our prayers should be formed, both with 
respect to matter and manner, short, close, full. It 
contains all we can either reasonably pray for, or 
desire ; whatever is for the glory of God ; whatever 
is needful for the happiness of the whole family, both * 
in heaven and earth. We say not too much when we 
declare, that it contains our entire duty, both to God 
and man. 

The prayer consists of three parts, 

I. The preface. 

II. The petitions. 

III. The'conclusion. 

I. The preface — Our Father which art in heaven. 
These words, while they mark the essential charac- 



216 



HARRIS'S SERMON $ 



ter of the true God as the first cause of all things, 
and the loving preserver of his children, lay, at the 
same time, a general foundation for prayer. Though 
the profundity and altitude of Deity are not to be en- 
compassed by the orbit of human reason, yet hath he 
made known to us part of his ways ; and we cannot 
pray acceptably, unless we believe that He is, and 
that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek 
him. Assisting our minds to form some idea of his 
goodness and love to the human family by the familiar 
and well known circumstance of paternal affection, 
he bids us address him by the term, Father ; beside 
which, though we knew all the names of love and 
power that ever men or angels bore, we should still 
say, none half so precious as Father. Now as the old 
patriarch who blessed Joseph's children, is said to 
have guided his hands wittingly; so are we taught to 
single out the proper object of supplication. There 
are gods many, and lords many, but to us there is but 
one God, the Father, of whom are all things. Who 
is this, Christian ? 

" Tis he, whose rolling chariot, 
Drawn by yoked lightnings, 
Shakes earth's foundation." 

Yes, 

" This awful God is ours, 

Our Father and our love." 

Moreover, if to distinguish him from an earthly 
father, and from all who are called gods, we addresa 
him as Our Father, which art in heaven, we do not 




ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 217 

design to limit the Holy One, who is essentially pre- 
sent throughout the universe. Could we take our 
stand on the uttermost verge of astronomical imagi- 
nation, beyond that remote boundary should we be- 
hold ten thousand times ten thousand systems, suns, 
stars, and planets, which, in their regular rotations, 
would, from the solemn brow in their different orbits, 
utter in the ears of the paralyzed beholder, God is 
here. To prevent the dizzy effects of the inebriating 
contemplation of knowledge which is too wonderful 
for us, our minds are provided with a rest in these 
words, Our Father which art in heaven. Our ideas are 
here, as it were, located ; and to preserve them from 
absorption, they are here brought to a focus. O 
Christian, do you not long to see that Holy Being ? 
Well, he is in heaven. Let us be faithful, and we 
shall 

— — — — " Soon see his face, 
And never, never sin ; 
And from the rivers of his grace 
Drink endless pleasures in. 5 ' 

Observe, we are bidden to say, Our Father. In one 
sense all can say so, for he is the Creator of all flesh ; 
but the Christian addresses him as his reconciled 
Father in Christ. Notice also the catholic principles 
of the sentiment, " Though we pray in secret, our 
Father, who seeth in secret, will reward us openly." 
Whose Father is this ? The Father of the Catholics ? 
No. Of the Protestant Episcopal Church ? Not of 
them alone. Of the Methodists ? Of the Baptists ? 

28 



218 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



Of the Presbyterians ? Of the Quakers ? Are not all 
one in Christ ? Said a wicked philosopher to a buz- 
zing, troublesome fly that he had caught, and was 
about to turn loose at a window, Go, you devil ; the 
world is large enough for us both : I would deliver his 
idea from its hateful garb, and clothe it in the apparel 
of Gospel charity : Fellow Christian, there is room 
in the compassion of the Saviour for us both ; he shed 
his blood to wash us both ; there is room in heaven 
for us both. O let us bring our sectarian views and 
prejudices to the foot of the Redeemer's cross, is 
God your Father in the sense of adoption ? I trust he 
is mine also. Our Father. 

II. We proceed to the petitions. They are six in 
number: the three first relate more immediately to 
God ; the three last respect ourselves. 

1. Hallowed be thy name. The name of God, signi- 
fies that idea or notion whereby we conceive him in 
our minds, as in the 76th Psalm and 1st verse, "In 
Judah is God known, his name is great in Israel." 
Again, Prov. xviii. 10. " The name of the Lord is a 
strong tower ; the righteous runneth into it, and is 
safe." In these words, Hallowed be thy name, we pray 
that the conception of God should be so exalted in 
us, that all our thoughts may fall down before it ; that 
all high conceits of ourselves, all the names of gran- 
deur, riches, and voluptuous joy may fade, lessen, and 
vanish before him ; and that his name may be treated 
with the reverence it deserves, which is the end of the 
Christian religion. That this may be the case, we pray, 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



219 



2. Thy kingdom come. For the general meaning 
of this petition, consider we its particular import. 
This kingdom comes to a particular person, when he 
repents and believes the Gospel ; when he is taught 
to know not only himself, but Jesus Christ also. In 
these events the kingdom of God is set up in the 
believer's heart, and the Lord God omnipotent reign- 
eth : he taketh unto himself his mighty power, that 
he may subdue all things to himself, and bring every 
thought into the obedience of Christ. This petition, 
in its general sense, may be paraphrased as follows. 
May thy kingdom of grace come quickly, and swal- 
low up all the kingdoms of the world : may all man- 
kind, receiving thee, O Christ ! for their king, and 
truly believing in thy name, be filled with righteous- 
ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, until they are 
removed hence in one general band, to see and adore 
thee in thy kingdom above. Amen. Hallelujah ! Con- 
nected with this is the third petition. 

3. Thy will be done. We are not to suppose these 
words to be a petition for resignation, or for willing- 
ness to suffer, or for angelic perfection. We only 
pray, that, through the establishment of the Redeem- 
er's kingdom in the earth, the mighty power of the 
Gospel may enable the children of men to attain to 
an active conformity to the will of God, emulating 
the entire obedience of angels. My brethren, how 
do they do the will of God ? They do it willingly : 
they love his commands. They do it continually; 
they cease not day or night. They do it perfectly ; 
without sin. It is true the star? are not pure in his 



220 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



sight ; in comparison of him, the very angels are not 
pure ; but this does not imply that they are not pure 
in themselves ; and we, though we may have weak- 
nesses of nature, may certainly attain to all the per- 
fection of love. We pray, that we may do the whole 
will of God, as he willeth ; and that we may do it, 
because it is his will. 

4. Give us this day our daily bread. It is thought, that 
this petition comprises not only the bread which nou- 
risheth the outward man, and perisheth ; but also the 
bread which strengthened the inner man, and endu- 
reth unto eternal life. The term bread, as here ap- 
plied to spiritual things, may embrace all the suc- 
cours of God's Word and Spirit ; and as it applies to 
earthly food, it implies a reasonable portion of the 
food most convenient for us. We are not to ask for 
luxuries, nor for the food of to-morrow, nor for food at 
all, except as a gift. Give us this day our daily bread. 

5. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors! 
Some have supposed that it should be rendered, 
Forgive us our debts or sins ; for we forgive those who tres- 
pass against us. If this be so, how dare any man or 
woman, who entertains hatred for a brother or sister, 
pray thus to God, and tell him a downright lie. Others 
have thought, (which is most probable,) that the pe- 
tition implies, " Make my forgiveness of an offending 
brother, the measure of thy forgiveness to me : — with 
the same measure I mete to others, let it be measured 
to me." — Well, how do you forgive your enemies ? 
You want a thousand acknowledgments, and you 
make a thousand reservations. Well, just so you 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



221 



pray, that God may deal with you. You forgive your 
enemy, but you wish not to see him again ; you de- 
sire no intercourse with him : just so you wish God to 
deal with you. But perhaps, you are resolved never 
to forgive him ; you mean never to make one effort to 
be reconciled to your offending sister or brother, 
either in life or at death. Then when you offer this 
petition, you in effect pray, that God may punish you 
deep in hell, to all eternity ; for, says our Saviour, 
dwelling on this passage with peculiar emphasis, " If 
ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your 
Father forgive your trespasses." 

6. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil In this petition we ask not for entire exemp- 
tion from temptation ; this would be to ask for deli- 
verance from the common lot of humanity. The word 
which is rendered temptation, means trial of any kind. 
The petition embraces the succours of grace, in a 
degree sufficient to sustain us in every trial ; so that 
our graces may shine, and God's name may be glori- 
fied. Temptation is the lot of mortals ; conflict the 
duty of Christians ; and victory the mercy of God. 
We are brought here, 

III. To the conclusion. 

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.— 
From a connected view of the Divine perfections and 
the wants of man, the doxology may be considered 
as putting a finishing hand to the most perfect suppli- 
cation. " It may," says Dr. Coke, " be paraphrased 
thus Because the government of the universe is 



222 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 

thine for ever, and thou alone possesseth the power 
of creating and upholding all things, and because 
the glory of infinite perfection remains eternally with 
thee ; therefore, all men ought to hallow thy name, 
submit to thy government, and perform thy will : and 
in an humble sense of their dependance should they 
seek from thee the daily supply of their wants, the 
pardon of their sins, and the kind protection of thy 
grace and providence." 

My brethren, none of us shall be saved without 
prayer. Have we, then, a just sense of the divine 
character ? Have we, in the true spirit of supplica- 
tion, ever addressed this prayer to God ; and have 
we had cause to believe, that it has been answered 
in blessings to our souls ? Or are we living prayerless ? 
If so, we are living Christless. Consider well, and 
examine, how stands the case betwixt God and thy 
soul. It is desirable to have him for a friend ; but wo 
to the man who has to encounter God's eternal wraths 
By prayer, through the merits of the Redeemer, w#* 
may escape it. Let us be wise to ask in time. 



* 



SERMON XXII. 

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden 
manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone 
a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he 
that receiveth it. Rev. ii. 17. 

It was once said, by a suffering apostle, both of 
himself and of his afflicted brethren in the ministry, 
that, " as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our 
comfort also aboundeth through Christ." And per- 
haps we have had no greater instance recorded of the 
co-operation of affliction for the advantage of the 
Christian, than in the case of the divine St. John. 
For bearing witness to Christ as Immanuel, and the 
Saviour of lost man, he was banished by Nero to an 
isle called Patmos. But, in his confinement, it was 
the comfort of this holy man, that he did not suffer 
as an evil-doer : the cause in which he suffered was 
worth suffering for, and the spirit of glory and of God 
rested upon him. In all his affliction the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mer- 
cies, and the God of all comfort, comforted him ; that 
he might be able to comfort them who were in afflic- 



224 



Harris's sermons 



tion, by the comfort wherewith he was comforted of 
God. 

To the angel or minister of the persecuted church 
in Pergamos, he was^ commanded to write the fol- 
lowing consolatory assurances, by the adorable 
Being who characterized himself by the simile of 
a sharp sword with two edges ; the sword of his 
word and his providences, to defend his faithful chil- 
dren, and to cut off all enemies and apostates. " I 
know thy works, and where thou dwellest;" I know 
thy works with a knowledge of intelligence and ob- 
servation, as also with a knowledge of approbation 
and acceptance : I know thee to be good in bad 
places, and in the worst of times. " Thou dwellest 
where Satan's seat is that is, where Satan bears 
sway by idolatry and persecution. " Yet dost thou 
hold fast my name ;" that is, the doctrine of the Gos- 
pel, preached in my name ; by which I am made 
known to the world, as a man is by his name. " And 
hast not denied my faith," but openly professed it in 
a time of persecution ; " even in those days, wherein 
Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among 
you." Mark here, what an honourable mention 
Christ makes of the services and sufferings of his 
people. " For God is not unrighteous to forget your 
work and labour of love." 

** Let saints in sorrow lie resigned, 
And trust a faithful Lord." 

Remark, however, the holy impartiality of the blessed 
Lord : while he commends this church for what is 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 22$ 

commendable, he reproves her for what is faulty and 
blameworthy. "But I have a few things against thee, 
because thou hast them that hold the doctrine of 
Balaam, and the Nicolaitans/' The Hebrew word 
Balaam, and the Greek word Nicholas, are of the 
same signification, and both signify victory, or con- 
queror of the people. Balaam was sent for by Balak 
from the mountains of the east, to curse Jacob, and to 
defy Israel. Through desire of gain he went ; but 
when he arrived he honestly confessed, 44 surely 
there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is 
there any divination against Israel." But though he 
had no power to injure them by a prophetic curse, 
yet by his counsel he caused the children of Israel 
to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab, 
and to eat things sacrificed to Peor, their idol god : 
in consequence of which, twenty-four thousand were 
destroyed. There was also a certain sect in Perga- 
mos, said to be founded by one Nicholas, who 
reckoned adultery, and the use of things offered to 
idols, indifferent things. They imputed their wicked- 
ness to God as the cause, and held sundry other 
erroneous opinions. These errors obtained in Per- 
gamos, by which the Christian faith was somewhat 
endangered ; and the church is reprehended for not 
executing a rigorous discipline on those who were 
tainted with these unholy doctrines. Repent for this 
thy pretended ignorance, and toleration of this 
wicked sect, and separate thyself from them, or 44 1 
will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against 
thee with the sword of my mouth (alluding to the % 

29 



226 Harris's sermons 

sword with which the angel smote Balaam) and as 
Balaam shared in the ruin of the Midianites, so shall 
you share in their ruin, unless you come out from 
among them. The epistle then closes with the 
words of the text, " He that hath an ear to hear, let 
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;" 
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden 
manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a 
new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that 
receiveth it. 

We have here the usual method of the Scriptures, 
a precept walking hand in hand with a promise. 
Speak we, 

I. Of the duty expressed in these words, To him 
that overcometh. Then speak, 

II. Of the connected promise, To him that over- 
cometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will 
give him a white stone, and in the stone, a new name writ- 
ten, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it, 

I. I am first to speak of the duty expressed in the 
text. 

You are not ignorant, my brethren, that the con- 
flicts of the Christian are frequently illustrated, in 
Scripture, by allusions to the duties of a military cha- 
racter. And indeed the figure is very apt : the very 
term war, carries with it the notion of violent oppo- 
sition between contending powers, originating from a 
wish in the one party to infringe on the rights of the 



ill 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



227 



other. Such an opposition there is between the 
world and the Christian. Such an infringement on 
the rights of the Christian, by the grand enemy of our 
souls, the devil; against whom, and his angels, we 
are encouraged to contend with fortitude and skill. 
" Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and 
in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour 
of God, that ye may be able to stand against the 
wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against 
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against 
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this 
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places 

" Your secret, sworn, eternal foes, 
Countless, invisible." 

Nor can we well overlook, in tracing this figure, 
the weapons of warfare, formed by the cruel inge- 
nuity of man, to destroy his fellow creature, and to 
decide political disputes. So mighty is their force, 
that scarcely any redoubt can repel their assault. 
The Christian, too, has weapons, which, if they are 
not carnal, are nevertheless mighty through God to 
the pulling down of strong holds ; casting down ima- 
ginations, and every high thing which exalteth itself 
against the knowledge of Christ : Truth and right- 
eousness, faith and prayer. What can withstand their 
force ? With these the Christian fights ; with these he 
conquers ; with these he 



" Meets the sons of night, 
And mock£ their vain design." 



Harris's sermons 



Time would fail me to run the metaphor into 
all its particulars, such as the watchfulness of a sol- 
dier, and the discipline to which he submits : some- 
times he even lies all night on his arms ; and to this 
there are allusions, in those frequent exhortations to 
vigilance throughout the Scriptures. As saith the 
poet 

" Leave no unguarded place, 
No weakness of the soul ; 
Take ev'ry virtue, ev'ry grace^ 
And fortify the whofle." 

And as to the discipline of the army, to this the 
apostle alludes, when writing to Timothy, he saith, 
" No man that warreth cntangleth himself with the 
affairs of this life, that he may please him that hath 
chosen him to be a soldier :" applying it at the same 
time to a soldier of the cross. Of himself he saith, 
" I keep my body under, and bring it into subjection ; 
lest that by any means, when I have preached to 
others, I myself should be a cast-away." In the text, 
Christ, the Captain of our salvation, is represented as 
encouraging his army. " He that hath an ear to hear, 
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches 
To' him that over cometh ivill I give to eat of the hidden 
manna, and ivill give him a white stone, and in the stone, a 
new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that re- 
ceiveth it. Mark, He doth not say, to him that fight- 
eth — No. Let the almost Christian, who maintains a 
running fight with the enemy of souls, recollect, that 
unless he go farther than Felix, or Agrippa, or the 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



223 



young man in the Gospel, (who came to our Lord 
desiring to be taught by him) he is not entitled to the 
promise in the text He doth not say, to him that 
conquereth in one or two, or more, particular acts of 
resistance. No. " Let not him that putteth on the 
harness boast as him that putteth it off." Let the 
disciple of Christ know, that if, like Judas, or Demas, 
he turn aside for gain ; if, like the disciples who from 
that time went back and walked no more with Christ, 
he become offended with the narrowness of the way; 
the promised good in the text shall never be his por- 
tion. But he, and he alone, who perseveringly fights, 
and finally overcomes, shall receive and eat of the 
hidden manna. But some may be ready to say, the 
words are not applicable to Christians of modern 
times ? the bloody sun of persecution having set, the 
cool and pleasant gales of prosperity now blow on 
the church. It is true, the Almighty hath put a hook 
in the jaws of the mighty, and we are no longer 
assailed by the bloody tyrant, persecution, in quality 
of an assassin. But while there are any on earth 
who possess the religion of that being who came to 
send fire on the earth, that Saviour who came not to 
send peace on earth, but a sword ; (for this, though 
not the primary design of his coming, is the natural 
consequence of the reception of that religion which 
condemns the world) the enemy of souls, who can 
transform himself into an angel of light, will seek to 
effect their ruin. " For I am come," said the Saviour, 
4 to set a man at variance against his father, and the 



230 



HARRISES SERMONS 



daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law 
against her mother-in-law ; and a man's foes shall be 
those of his own household." How frequently are we 
hindered by a relation from being religious. Here, 
brethren, here we see what we have to do ; the father, 
mother, wife, husband, or some relative or acquain- 
tance, has beheld our seriousness, and by constraint or 
persuasion would draw us back : but shall we yield 
to their entreaties ? If so, we tumble with them right 
into hell, instead of receiving the promise in the text. 
Or, though we should not be exposed to threats or 
persuasions, we may, nevertheless, have to withdraw 
ourselves from those, who, if not openly profane, are 
enemies to the cross of Christ. 

But we have to overcome self before we receive 
the white stone ; and perhaps we have not a more for- 
midable enemy on earth. This flesh would rebel 
against the reign of grace. O, says the sluggard, there 
is a lion in the way. The man has a family ; with 
what difficulty does he bring himself to perform the 
duties of family religion, family prayer, reading the # 
Scriptures in his family, and attending to the morals 
,of his children and servants. Yet these duties, as 
well as piety to God, must be performed, before we 
can rationally expect the fulfilment of the promise in 
our behalf. In short, every man has his well-circum- 
stanced, or easily besetting sin; and however hard to 
detect, or difficult to cure, it must be overcome in the 
strength of grace. Is he a minister ? he may seek to 
please more than to profit ; he may labour for the 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



231 



fleece more than for the flock. Is he in traffic ? he 
may be tempted to take the advantage of his neigh- 
bour. Is he a mechanic ? he may be given to extor- 
tion. Is he rich ? he may be tempted to pride. Is he 
poor ? he may be tempted to steal, or to murmur. Is 
he married ? he may be solicited to incontinence ; or 
single, to unlawful desires. — Against these sins, and 
such as these, it behooves the Christian to be guard- 
ed. We must overcome them, or they will over- 
come us. 

That you may the more diligently set yourselves to 
overcome them, I shall proceed to speak, 

II. Of the connected promise, To him that over- 
cometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will 
give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name 
written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiv- 
eth it. 

Balaam went in his error through greediness of 
gain ; but he who, in the combat for Christ, and by 
the strength of grace, conquers all sin and tempta- 
tion, is assured in this promise that he shall have the 
true riches. According to the notion of the ancients, 
especially the Hebrews, temporal riches consist in 
meats and drinks ; in having many of the fruits of the 
earth ; and much cattle, with all things necessary and 
convenient to human life. The hidden manna is the 
unknown meat ; the riches well preserved in heaven, 
not subject to theft or decay ; that is, immortal life, 
The necessary sustenance of life, is here put for life 
itself. It is called the hidden manna Now, of the 



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manna which fell, some was designed for common use, 
and some was laid up in the ark for a memorial : that 
which was common was corruptible, and those who 
ate thereof died, though it came down from heaven ; 
but that which was laid up in the ark, miraculously 
remained to future generations. It is God alone who 
keeps, and therefore, who gives this manna, or ever- 
lasting life ; of which the manna in the ark was but a 
symbol. 

Moreover, it is added, / will give him a white stone, 
and in the stone a new name written, which no man hnow- 
eth, saving he that receiveth it. Stone whitened was the 
first and most ancient matter used to write upon. A 
new name signifies freedom, and a change of condi- 
tion. Abram and Sarai received new names from 
God, and so did Jacob. Our Lord changed Simon'* 
name for Peter ; and Christians take a new name at 
baptism. The expression of the text, according to 
our notion, amounts to this : I will give him a new 
diploma or character to enfranchise him, and there- 
by grant him new privileges, change his condition^ 
and make him immortal ; he shall attain to that im- 
mortal life, whose glories and felicities none can fully 
conceive, but those who enjoy them. Our Saviour's 
joining the manna to the new name, that is, riches or 
maintenance to it, is according to the principles of 
the Mosaical law, by which no servant was to be set 
at liberty without something allowed for his present 
support. 

Some have thought this expression of the white 
stone, alludes to a custom, by which the Romans mm 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS* 



233 



tivated and preserved a lasting friendship between 
particular persons and families. The method of 
doing this, was usually by a small piece of ivory, 
which they divided lengthwise ; the one party wrote 
his name on the one, and the other on the other, and 
then they exchanged them ; and they were kept by 
each party as a badge of friendship, and when pro- 
duced, ensured them and their descendants a friendly 
reception at the house of each other. Others have 
thought it an allusion to the ancient custom, in crimi- 
nal cases, of absolving with a white stone, or con- 
demning with a black one, the accused person. 

The substance of the promise appears to be this : 
The faithful and persevering Christian shall, here- 
after, be acknowledged by Christ, and received into 
a state of perpetual favour and friendship. There 
can be little doubt that this is the true meaning of the 
figures ; and how reviving is such a promise to one 
who is labouring to make his way to heaven ! 

It only remains to inquire, whether you have ever 
seriously engaged in the religious conflict. Believe 
me, by nature every man is enlisted on the side of 
sin. This nature is to be subdued by the grace of 
God, before we are prepared for heaven. The war- 
fare is not to be accomplished without our know- 
ledge. No : as it would be impossible to sever a 
limb from our body without our knowledge, so it is 
impossible sin should be separated from our souls 
without the most painful sensations. If we are not 
against our foes and for the Lord, we are for our foes 

30 



234 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 



and against the Lord. How serious the thought 
Some have overcome in part; let them persevere 
and look forward for the fulfilment of the promise. 



SERMON XXIII. 



But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made 
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctif cation, and 
redemption. 1 Cor. i. 30. 

In this chapter St. Paul contrasts the Gospel of 
Jesus Christ with Rabbinical learning and Gentile 
philosophy, and brings them to the proper standard. 

It was a characteristic excellence of the apostle, 
to judge of the utility of principles by their effects ; 
and on this footing he challenges the wise, the scribe, 
and the disputer of this world. " For after that in 
the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not 
God;" when philosophy had long tried its utmost, 
had long exerted its powers to understand the wis- 
dom and perfections of God, which shine so clear in 
the works of creation, and was unablo to look through 
nature, so as to form a proper, a soul-transforming 
view of nature's God ; " it pleased God, by the foolish- 
ness of preaching, to save them that believe." God 
was pleased to pass by the bright luminaries of the 
Gentile world, and, by the preaching of a few illite- 
terate men, saw proper to convince the world that hig 



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Gospel was his power, and that, by its own unaid- 
ed energy, it could destroy sin and the power of the 
devil. 

Having stated these facts before the bar of reason, 
he rests fully persuaded that his cause is the cause of 
truth; and while he is waiting for the decision, he 
takes occasion to state to his Corinthian brethren, 
that " God had chosen the foolish things of the world 
to confound the wise; and the weak things of the 
world to confound the things that are mighty: and 
base things of the world, and things which are de- 
spised, yea, and things that are not, to bring to nought 
things that are ; that no flesh should glory in his pre- 
sence." That man has never lived who dared to say 
— By the strength of my own understanding I have 
learned the will of God, and by my own power I am 
able to perform it. Man is foolish, guilty, sinful, 
helpless by nature. But of him are ye in Christ 
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteous- 
ness, and sanctification, and redemption. As if the apostle 
had said, The superiority of the Gospel over the 
wisdom of this world, does not consist in an ill-judged 
system of unqualified mercy, which admits the igno- 
rant, guilty, and unholy into heaven. God's method 
of saving sinners, is by enlightening, pardoning, and 
purifying them ; and to effect these glorious purposes, 
there is all-sufficient grace and energy in his Son, 
whom he hath appointed the Saviour of the world. 

The apostle contemplates man as a fallen being in 
these words, and describes the effect of that stupen- 
dous condescension, which bound the Son of God 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



237 



down to the burthen of his mysterious atonement. 
Few rightly conceive of the dreadful dilemma into 
which our species were brought by the malignant 
archangel, when he first caused them to plant the 
standard of rebellion against God. God is not to be 
mocked. — His law must be upheld in all the signifi- 
cancy of its proclamations. In the government of 
heaven, as well as in the government of earth, there 
are certain principles that cannot be compromised, 
and maxims of administration which must not be de- 
parted from; and a certain character of majesty and 
truth, on which the taint even of the slightest viola- 
tion can never be admitted ; and a certain authority 
which must be upheld by the immutability of all its 
sanctions, and the fulfilment of its wise and righteous 
proclamations, and the severities of the law must be 
discharged upon the guilty ; or in some other way, an 
adequate provision be found for its outraged dignity, 
and violated requisitions. Now, however little de- 
light a corrupt and darkened world may take in the 
survey of God's divine perfections ; how small soever 
the enjoyment which it yields them, to contemplate 
the untainted glory of God ; however insipid the 
things of salvation may be to an earthly understand- 
ing ; however the great matters of sin and salvation 
may fall without making any impression on the heavy 
ears of a listless world ; the Bible tells us, that the 
sinless spirits that surround God's throne, who are 
transported with all the ecstacy of an overwhelming 
affection, and bend themselves in rapturous adora- 
tion at the shrine of infinite and unspotted holiness ; 



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and behold with heavenly fascination that moral 
beauty, which throws a softening lustre over the aw- 
fulness of the Godhead ; those pure and holy spirits, 
whose sinless existence lies in the knowledge and 
admiration of Deity ; and who see sin in all its malig- 
nity, and salvation in all its mysterious greatness, de- 
sire to look into the mystery of our redemption. Ar- 
rested by that plan of recovery, of which Christ is the 
glorious Author, and the Finisher ; that plan, in which 
the great adversary of our species met with a wisdom 
which overmatched him; that plan, which restores 
this sinful world, and readmits it into heaven's pure 
and righteous family : I see adoring myriads gazing at 
this plan of redemption ; stretching all their faculties, 
and bending their eyes towards the throne, which has 
the firm pillars of immutability to rest upon, linked 
with the fulfilment of the law which had come out 
from it ; — and viewing the justice of God embarked 
on the threatenings he had uttered against all the 
doers of iniquity, they expect nothing but that God, 
by putting forth the power of his wrath, will accom- 
plish his every denunciation, and vindicate the inflex- 
ibility of his government; and by one sweeping 
deed of vengeance assert, in the sight of all his crea- 
tures, the sovereignty which belongs to him. Oh ! 
with what desire do they ponder on his ways, when, 
amidst the urgency of all these demands, which look 
so high and indispensable, they see the unfolding of 
the attribute of mercy, and the supreme Lawgiver 
bending upon his guilty creatures an eye of tender- 
ness, and in his profound and unsearchable wisdom 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



239 



devising for them some plan of restoration : the ever- 
lasting Son, moving from his dwelling-place in hea- 
ven, to carry it forward through all the difficulties by 
which it is encompassed ; and by the virtue of his 
mysterious sacrifice magnifying the glory of every 
other perfection — making mercy triumph over them 
all, and throwing open a way by which the polluted 
wanderers (with the whole lustre of the divine cha- 
racter untarnished,) may be readmitted into fellow- 
ship with God, and be again brought back within the 
circle of his loyal and affectionate family. Who 
would have thought it! The wonder-working God, 
who has strewed the field of immensity with so many 
worlds, and spread the shelter of his omnipotence 
over them, and who would shatter them to atoms, 
before his truth or holiness should undergo the least 
suspicion of a stain ; comes down to dwell with men, 
and by his wisdom, with the fragments of a different 
chaos, (the wreck of rebellion) brings light, life, har- 
mony and salvation. O Lord God ! thou art great in 
counsel ! Thou art the wonderful Counsellor ! 

I. Christ is the wisdom of God, and he is made 
unto us wisdom. He is indeed, an ingenious contriver; 
for not only does he satisfy God, offended and disho- 
noured by sin, but reforms man, corrupted and per- 
verted by it. And this he does by showing us what 
God is : a being, for whose glory it w as requisite that 
a God-made man should humble himself, and become 
obedient to the death of the cross. He shows us 
what sin is : an evil for which it was necessary 
that Christ should become anathema He shows us 



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what salvation is : a good, for which Christ did not 
think the expenditure of his life excessive. All this 
he discovers to us by the Spirit, which is light, and 
which leads us into the way of all truth. He is made- 
unto us wisdom, and 

II. Righteousness. There are few words in the 
sacred Scriptures, which are taken in a greater 
variety of acceptations, than the word righteousness. 
In general, it implies a right understanding of the 
claims of justice, and acting according to its dictates. 
Its ideal meaning contains the notion of a beam or 
scales in equipoise, what we call even balance ; and 
it is well known that the personification of justice, 
both ancient and modern, is the likeness of a beauti- 
ful female, with a bandage on her eyes, and a beam 
and scales in her hand, so perfectly poised that nei- 
ther end preponderates. So Jesus Christ, under- 
standing the claims of justice, and knowing that man 
could not meet the demand, but by suffering the 
growing vengeance of an incensed Jehovah, through 
the long sweep of eternal ages ; arose from his seat 
as an Almighty Conqueror, mighty to save ; and, moved 
by mercy, trod the wine-press of the fierceness of 
God's wrath alone, without which no child of Adam 
would ever have seen the face of God in peace. He 
is therefore made righteousness ; that is, God's method 
of saving sinners. Through his death, it is agreeable 
to the righteousness of God to save sinners. " For 
in him all that believe are justified from all things, 
from which they could not be justified by the law of 
Moses." Righteousness is imputed to sinful man 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 241 

through faith in Christ, by which his past sins are 
forgiven, or covered, and he is acquitted and ac- 
cepted, as though he himself were really righteous. 
" Even as David describeth the blessedness of the 
man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness, without 
works." " Therefore, as by the offence of one, judg- 
ment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so, 
by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon 
all men unto justification of life." Israel, or the Jews, 
which followed after the law of righteousness, (that 
law, the end or object of which is Christ, and through 
him justification to all that believe) "have not 
attained to the law of righteousness ;" have not found 
out God's way of saving sinners. And " wherefore ? 
Because they sought it not by faith, but, as it were, 
by the works of the law :" — they did not perceive that 
its works, or prescribed religious observances, were 
intended to lead to faith in Christ, the glorious 
Messiah, of whom they were but types. But " the 
Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness," 
who had no knowledge, by revelation, of God's 
method of saving sinners by faith in Christ ; " have 
attained to righteousness," have had imparted to 
them God's method of saving sinner's by faith in 
Christ. Abraham was justified by faith, even before 
the law was given : and by believing, (in reference 
to the spiritual object held forth in the various ordi- 
nances of the law, and now revealed under the Gos- 
pel) he and all his descendants have been justified. 
And from the beginning, all that were just and righ- 
teous in the earth, became such by faith ; and by this 
principle they were enabled to persevere. Hence 

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said the prophet Jeremiah, He shall be called, The 
Lord our righteousness. 

He is also made of God unto us, 

III. Sanctification. Sanctification is founded upon, 
and is greatly promoted by, our free justification 
through Christ. Justification frees us from the curse 
of the law, and the ruling power of sin. Sanctifica- 
tion is the consecration of all the powers, both of the 
body and soul, to God. Sanctification is a privilege 
purchased for, given to, and wrought in us, by grace, 
through faith in Jesus Christ ; whose blood being- 
applied to the conscience, implants and increases 
holy dispositions, and directs, excites, and enables us 
to perform good works. Sanctification comprehends 
all the graces of knowledge, repentance, faith, love, 
humility, zeal, patience, and the exercise of them in 
our conduct both toward God and man. Sanctifica- 
tion has a root, and it has a fruit. Its root is, renewal 
after the image of God, in righteousness and true 
holiness : its fruit is, to cease from sin, and to live 
unto righteousness, loving, studying, and practising 
good works. But whether we consider it as a privi- 
lege, principle, practice, or preparation for heaven, it 
is wrought in us only by the divine influence of 
Christ. He is made unto tis sanctification, and 

IV. Redemption. This word denotes, figuratively, 
the spiritual redemption of men, by the blood of 
Christ, from the bondage of sin and death. " Being 
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus." 44 In whom we have redemp- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



243 



tion through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of his grace." Now since 
Christ came to redeem us from all the effects of the 
fall, this redemption must also include the redemption 
of our bodies ; " for since by man came death, by 
man came also the resurrection of the dead." 
" Therefore we groan within ourselves, waiting for 
the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." 
For the prophet, in the person of Christ, saith, 64 I 
will ransom them from the power of the grave ; I will 
redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy 
plagues ; O grave, I will be thy destruction." 

It is wonderful, it is passing wonderful, that the 
God of glory should bend his pitying look on abject 
man. He who had thrown ten thousand times ten 
thousand worlds around him, and spread them over 
illimitable space, turns himself to our narrow habita- 
tion : the footsteps of a God-made man have been on 
the narrow spot of ground we occupy, and on our 
mysterious redemption has he impressed the whole 
fulness of the Godhead. 

Sinner, a proper view of this condescension, 
requited as it has been by you with ingratitude, 
would break your heart ; and if you do not, with all 
the ingenuous sorrow of unaffected penitence, aban- 
don your sins to-day, it will be because you have not 
gotten a right view of them. 

Christians, do you not long for the day to roll on, 
when you shall join the adoring worshippers of Him 
who washed us from our sins in his blood; those 
spotless souls, who with voices loud as from numbers 



244 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 

Without number, sweet as from blessed voices utter- 
ing joy, when heaven rings jubilee, and loud hosan- 
nahs fill the eternal regions ; and when you shall cry, 
" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and 
glory, and honour, and blessing !" 



SERMON XXIV. 



My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers, 
temptations. James i. 2. 

The word which we translate temptation, has two 
grand meanings: first, solicitation to sin, and 
secondly, trial from providential situation or circum- 
stances ; as persecution, affliction, or trial of any 
kind. And in this latter sense it is used here ; not 
intending diabolic suggestions, or what is generally 
understood by the word temptation. 

To those w ho mind earthly things, or live after the 
flesh, our text will seem a hard saying. So far from 
thinking it cause or matter of rejoicing to suffer 
reproach or affliction, there is nothing which they 
endeavour to shun with greater carefulness. But the 
man who no longer lives to himself, but to the Lord ; 
the man who observes the motions of sin in his mem- 
bers; the man who finds by experience that self has 
entered into league with the world and the devil, to 
destroy his soul; the man who considers this world 



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as a place of probation, and this life as a state of 
trial; in fine, who rightly appreciates the joys of 
heaven, and estimates every thing in exact proportion 
to its advantages as a mean of salvation; such a 
man, I say, will not suppose the advice of St. James 
in the text, a mere flourish of his imagination. He 
will not regard St. Paul in the vth of Romans, as 
speaking at random, when he represents his afflic- 
tions as cause of exultation and ravishment. " We 
glory, " saith he," in tribulation." 

It might be well to observe, that the acquiescence in 
afflictions, of which we are speaking, while it is at 
the utmost remove from phlegmatic insensibility, ig 
equally remote from quiescence under them, consi- 
dered in the abstract. My meaning is this ; — we are 
not called to rejoice in trial or temptation, considered 
in themselves; but as standing in connexion with 
their valuable fruits ; which are nothing less than a 
" far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
The one grand aim of the Christian regards the glory 
of God ; his next cansideration stands in connexion 
with the other, the salvation of his own soul. If then, 
he finds affliction subservient to his purpose, accord- 
ing to the magnanimous principles of Christian phi- 
losophy, he will say, " most gladly therefore will I 
glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmi- 
ties, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, 
in distresses, for Christ's sake; for when I am 
weak, then am I strong." My brethren, to those 
whose probation and pilgrimage lead them through 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



247 



the thorny paths of this wilderness, a discourse on 
affliction cannot be deemed uninteresting, especially 
if that discourse be calculated to show its benefit. 

This we shall attempt to demonstrate in the fol- 
lowing discourse, while we speak. 

I. Of their nature and design, and 

II. Of their benefit. 

I. We will speak something of the nature and de- 
sign of affliction, or trial. 

It was long since observed by Eliphaz, that " afflic- 
tion cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trou- 
ble spring out of the ground " We have an intima- 
tion here, that they are ordered according to the 
wise counsels of the Most High, and that they are 
not the result of an unforeseen casualty. You will 
not understand me as speaking of those troubles 
which men bring on themselves, by actual sin and 
stubborn rebellion. It would be little short of blas- 
phemy, for a man to drink into a state of intoxication, 
and then to charge the Almighty as the author of 
every bruise and wound he might receive during the 
period of his phrenzy. It is not in such affliction as 
this, that we are called to rejoice : this would be, to 
rejoice in iniquity. The affliction and trial of which 
we speak, is that, which, if in every case it be not 
immediately ordered by the Almighty; if in some 
cases natural causes seem to lead to it, is neverthe- 
less overruled for the ultimate good of them that love 



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God. A man, by natural causes, may be brought to 
a bed of affliction ; the natural causes may neverthe- 
less minister to the will of God, and God may make 
the affliction minister, at the same time, to our best^ 
our eternal interest. Moreover, a seeming accident, 
or many seeming disasters, may have reduced us to a 
state of poverty : God can, and frequently does make 
a state of poverty minister to our salvation. We 
might say the same of persecution, and of the loss of 
our friends ; though wickedness is the cause of both 
these, yet God overrules them for the good of those 
who love him. 

It may be asked here, whether we are to consider 
sin as the cause of these trials, or whether we are to 
consider the Almighty as ordaining them. Thi 
question- seems to lead to some difficulty, and pe 
haps it is more curious than useful. Not to pass i 
by in entire silence, I would observe, that there is 
sense in which our trials may be said to result fro 
sin ; and that there is also a sense in which they ma 
be considered as the order of God. It is eviden 
that but for sin, there would be no poverty, sickness 
persecution, or death ; and yet in these things we ar 
told to rejoice : not, however, as the effects of sin, bu 
as the sanctified chastisements of the Almighty, which 
are designed to take away the iniquity of his people. 
This may be illustrated by a circumstance taken 
from the Old Testament. When the Jews had 
degenerated into a hypocritical nation, and the 
Almighty designed to scourge them ; he fixed on the 
Assyrian monarch, whom he denominated the rod of 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



249 



his anger. " I will give him," saith he, " my com- 
mission, and send him against my people." The 
proud king, actuated by lust of power, goes forth to 
execute the Lord's purpose : — howbeit he meaneth 
not so. It is far from his heart to obey the will of 
God in this expedition ; and when this instrument of 
the divine vengeance arrogates to himself the honour 
of his successes, the Almighty speaks of him in the 
following terms : " Shall the axe boast itself against 
him that heweth therewith, as if the rod should shake 
itself against him that lifteth it up ?" 

This, my brethren, is the light in which we are to 
regard the Almighty, as tempting or trying us. Man 
was created an agent ; sin is the abuse of agency ; 
affliction is the fruit of sin. The Lord, by a dispen- 
sation of infinite wisdom and goodness, overrules 
these afflictions for the good of his people : he guides 
the feeble bark of his church through the waves of a 
tempestuous ocean, so that those disasters and afflic- 
tions which overwhelm the wicked with confusion, 
work out for it a far more exceeding and eternal 
weight of glory. The Christian, therefore, views 
affliction in a new point of light, — new to the worldly 
man ; he regards it as virtue's school, and says, with 
St. Paul, " We know that all things work together 
for good to them that love God." 

II. This will lead us to speak somewhat of the 
benefit of affliction. 

I think it has appeared sufficiently plain, that the 
Almighty has purposes of mercy in the afflictions he 

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HARRIS'S SERMONS 



sends : I trust I shall be able to show that they are 
wisely adapted to their design. 

The inordinate love of this world, is called the 
very essence of ungodliness. It is well known, that 
in the soil of prosperous fortune, unbroken health, 
flattering friends, buoyant spirits, and a spring-tide of 
success ; earthly love strikes its roots the deeper. 
Hence, to draw the mind to God it is necessary these 
broken cisterns should be drained; and, in this way, 
the Good Being frequently brings his creatures to 
conviction and repentance. Under circumstances of 
distress, it is comparatively easy for the sorrowing 
heart to give up a world by which itself seems to be 
given up. The soul which knows not where to fly, 
flies to God by a sort of natural impulse, from a feel- 
ing conviction that every other refuge is a refuge of 
lies. In the parable of the prodigal son, sin and ex- 
travagance marked his conduct until he began to be 
in want, and then he said, " I will arise and go to my 
father." 

It is not necessary that we should go back so far, 
for proofs of the advantages of trial. How many, by 
the loss of health, wealth, and friends, have begun to 
think of seeking more permanent blessings ? 1 do not 
say that afflictions necessarily lead to such an end, 
but that this is their tendency. A rebellious spirit, 
under divine chastening; a murmuring and repining 
temper ; the indulgence of hard thoughts of God ; will 
pervert the best means to the worst ends : and this 
disposition is thus reprehended by the prophet 
Amos : 44 1 nave smitten you with blasting and mil- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



251 



dew: when your gardens, and your vineyards, and 
your fig-trees, and your olive-trees increased, the 
palmer-worm devoured them,* I have sent among 
you the pestilence ; your young men have I slain 
with the sword, and have taken away your horses ; 
yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel : and 
because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy 
God, O Israel." Thus, I say, the Almighty bespeaks 
and threatens rebellious Israel, when they frustrate 
his designs. What shall we say then of those who 
have their hearts torn by the most cruel bereave- 
ments, and their earthly hopes blasted by a frown- 
ing providence, and yet never seriously consider the 
hand that smites them, that they may break off their 
sins by repentance, nor lay to heart the vanity of the 
world, that they may return to God as their chief 

joy- 
Again, afflictions tend to revive decaying graces. 

Our hearts, my brethren, are very treacherous, — and 
as the nation, no longer inured to toil and warfare, 
becomes effeminate, and exposed to the depreda- 
tions of designing enemies ; so the heart, in a state of 
tranquillity, the man at ease in his possessions, is apt 
to forget God; .or, at least, to grow cold and formal 
in his devotions. A shock of affliction numbers his 
short comings before him, promotes self-examination, 
and causes a renewal of vows. Joseph's brethren 
made mention of their former sin of selling their 
brother, when they were in trouble ; and though a 
score of years had passed since the guilty transac- 



252 



HARRISES SERMONS 



tion, they seeriied unmoved by their fault until they 
were in trouble ; and, though they might before have 
felt uneasiness of mind on account of their crime, it 
remained for affliction to give poignancy to their 
conviction : the moment they were in trouble, they 
thought of sin as the cause of it. The Psalmist says, 
44 Before I was afflicted I went astray ; but now have 
I kept thy law." How often do we realize the same 
beneficial effects from affliction, such as sickness, 
loss of fortune, or of friends? 

Again, afflictions are useful as evidences of our 
sincerity and of the power of godliness, inasmuch as 
by them alone our faith is tried, and we are encou- 
raged to bear patiently, and to labour earnestly and 
perse veringly after perfect love and eternal glory. 
To imitate the religion of the Gospel in some points, 
is not so very difficult in certain conditions of life. 
For instance, we can easily exercise resignation to 
the will of God, when he pours in upon us a flood- 
tide of prosperity : but to obey God and be resigned 
to his will when he crosses our inclinations, this is 
religion indeed — this is the trial which Abraham's 
faith endured, and which proved it genuine ; and he 
was called the " friend of God." But wherefore did 
God thus try him? Did he not know before, that he 
was sincere ? No doubt he did. But perhaps Abra- 
ham might not have been so well satisfied of his own 
fidelity before, as he was afterward ; nor had he 
made so full proof of the power of grace, as he then 
made. What was the result? His consolation in- 
creased, his faith was confirmed, he was thenceforth 



on important subjects. 253 

prepared to exercise faith and patience under simi- 
lar trials, and the virtue of God's never-failing grace 
was tested. The trial of Job was somewhat similar. 
The Almighty did not believe the lies of Satan, when 
he said, 44 Touch him, and he will curse thee to thy 
face;" but he gave Satan liberty to do his worst, 
only to spare his life. After a series of severe afflic- 
tions Job came out, like gold tried in the furnace and 
thoroughly purified ; and he no doubt enjoyed more 
consolation afterward, and God's name was more 
glorified by Satan's malice on this occasion, than in 
all Job's life beside. 

From a view of the utility of affliction in this re- 
spect, the apostle represents the Almighty as speak- 
ing to his children : " My son, despise not thou the 
chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art re- 
buked of him : for whom the Lord loveth he chasten- 
eth, and scourge th every son whom he receiveth," 
&c. And St. James, immediately after the text, saith, 
64 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh 
patience." — As if he had said, why should you not 
count it joy to fall into temptation, when it is so well 
calculated to try your faith, and give the satisfactory 
evidence that it is sincere ; and at the same time to 
bring glory to God, and promote patience. And then; 
he speaks of the necessity of patience,- — 44 Let pa- 
tience have her perfect work," or its full reward. A 
man who puts his money on interest, has no right to 
receive it unless he wait the proper time ; and so of 
tilling the ground, and of the reward of labour. He 
speaks of this, as the way to attain perfection. 



254 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 

« That you may be perfect and entire, wanting no- 
thing :" that is, that you may be skilled in all the 
mysteries of true godliness. 

We are assured, by our own experience, that those 
who have suffered the greatest afflictions, and sus- 
tained them best, are the happiest Christians. As 
the old soldier perceives a degree of delight in 
speaking of his wound, so the faithful Christian re- 
joices in enumerating the afflictions he has endured 
for Christ's sake, while fighting under his banner; 
and like Paul in his confidence, he saith, " Who shall 
separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall tribula- 
tion, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or naked- 
ness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these things we 
are more than conquerors," we take spoils from our 
enemies. 

Brethren, it must afford a man great comfort, while 
he is surrounded with distresses, to reflect that he is 
walking in the way in which all have travelled who 
are now in heaven, and who once were men. For 
could we hear them tell their travels in this life, I 
have no doubt that they would speak with raptures 
of their former temptations. Christian whatever 
your troubles may be, if you do not run, but fall into 
them, however numerous they may be, you have a 
right to rejoice in them. But, sinner, your afflictions 
are but the prelude to everlasting pain. 



1 

: 



SERMON XXV 





He that, being often reproved, hardenetk his neck, shall 
suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Prov. 
xxix. 1. 

The book of Proverbs was written, it is commonly 
believed, by Solomon, who, through his great age* 
great talents, and great experience, had attained as 
much knowledge of human nature as was ever pos- 
sessed by any man upon earth. 

We are not, however, to ascribe to his talents, his 
age, or experience, that body of useful matter found- 
in the book of Proverbs ; but we are to include these 
proverbs with those other scriptures, of which by St 
Paul it is said, that they were given by inspiration of 
God. The preacher, however, who selects his text 
from the book of Proverbs, does not give a view of 
his subject by the context ; inasmuch as these pro- 
verbs are written in the way of aphorisms, or in a 
sententious manner. 



256 



Harris's sermons 



We may, however, observe, in the introduction of 
this discourse, that the words of the text give us an 
excellent opportunity to correct a false notion that 
has obtained in the world, relative to the long suffer- 
ing and mercy of God, which the sinner would re- 
present as without bounds, and establish at the ex- 
pense of the other attributes of Deity, which are of 
equal importance. We are willing that the attribute 
of mercy should stand foremost in the list. — It is to 
this, that the guilty sinner makes his appeal ; it is in 
this, as a sanctuary, that he finally takes shelter, 
when pursued by the avenger of blood. But wilt 
thou know, O vain man, that there are bounds which 
mercy cannot pass ? Wilt thou know, that man's sal- 
vation includes, not only repentance and faith on our 
part, but the harmony of the divine attributes on the 
part of Deity ? For, says the Psalmist, " Justice and 
mercy have met together ; righteousness and peace 
have kissed each other;" and without this divine 
harmony, the sinner cannot be saved. 

Away then, with the soul-destroying error and 
vain thought, that God will govern his creatures by 
laws, under the influence of which, in a temporal 
point of view, no honest man would like to live. 
Who would like to live under a government, which 
conferred the same favours on the virtuous and vi^ 
cious ? And who, but the guilty, could wish the Al- 
mighty to save a guilty and unrenewed sinner? 
However terrible, then, the destruction of the wick- 
ed may seem, be you well assured, that it is a penal- 
ty only proportioned to the holy law of God, as given 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



257 



to intelligent creatures or agents : for thus saith the 
just God, He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his 
neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. 

We will first define the terms, and then proceed to 
make such observations as may occur. 

To be reproved, then, is to be charged to the 
face with a fault ; to be checked, or chided, or re- 
prehended : — this is the meaning of the term in its 
common acceptation. But viewed in its connexion 
in this place, it must mean every intimation we have 
had, from any source, of the impropriety of our con- 
duct, and the necessity of reformation. 

By the term, neck, we understand, in some places, 
that part of the body which is between the head and 
shoulders ; as where Rebekah put skins on the neck 
of her son, to deceive her dim-sighted husband. It 
is sometimes put to signify the head ; as where the 
elders were to bring the heifer to a rough place, 
that was neither eared nor sown, and strike off her 
neck, (meanmg her head) to make expiation for sin. 
But it most commonly is put for the heart ; as where 
it is said, that the children of Israel hardened their 
" necks," and would not hear : meaning their hearts, 
as in the words of the text. 

By destruction, I understand, in this place, the 
state of being destroyed ; and, as applied to an in- 
telligent being, it means the converting our capa- 
bility of happiness into an eternal capability of re- 
ceiving and suffering wretchedness and wo. By 
sudden destruction, I understand, that which comes 
upon us in an unexpected manner. By this destruo 

33 



258 



Harris's sermons 



tion being without remedy, I understand that it fe 
the effect of the irrevocable decree of Jehovah, 
which cannot admit of a repeal. 

I hope, now, that black man understands every 
word, when we say, He that, being often reproved, 
hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that 
without remedy. 

Perhaps, however, there are some present, who, 
though ready to be overtaken with this destruction, 
are still insensible of their danger. Such have not 
noticed, or they have forgotten the reproofs which 
they have received from different quarters ; and they 
have hardened themselves in sin, while Satan has, in 
the mean time, been fastening his chains the more 
securely on them. 

As I wish to be practical, plain, and useful, I shall 
make the following divisions. 

I. I shall endea vour to show, that we have all been 
reproved, and in what ways it has been done. 

II. What we are to understand by hardening the 
heart, and how this is done. 

III. Painful as the task may be, 1 must speak some- 
thing of the destruction, the sudden destruction, which 
must be the consequence of hardening the heart : — 
and so conclude as I may be enabled. 

I. I am to show that we have all been reproved, and 
feow it has been done. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 259 

And here it will be necessary to observe, that 
what we shall say on this point, is predicated of the 
agency and accountability of man. The very notion 
of reproof, carries with it the idea of previous light, 
and power to choose good and refuse evil; on the 
abuse of which, reproof can only be founded. Let 
this be fixed in your minds. Hence, though man, 
when he fell, involved himself in ignorance and guilt, 
from which he could not extricate himself; he is 
nevertheless left without excuse, in consequence of 
that light which has been communicated. It is said 
by the apostle, that whatever makes manifest, is 
light : here then we might speak of two volumes that 
have contained this light, the rejection of which has 
involved reproof and guilt. The first, is the volume* 
of nature ; the second, the volume of revelation. 
The former has lain open for the perusal of all na- 
tions : " for the invisible things of him from the 
creation of the world are clearly seen, being under- 
stood by the things that are made, even his eternal 
power and Godhead ; so that they are without ex- 
cuse." Under the influence of this light alone, it 
might be said, "The heavens declare the glory of 
God, and the firmament showeth his handy work. 
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night 
showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor lan- 
guage where their voice is not heard." 

But this light, although sufficient to involve respon- 
sibility, yet it is but darkness when compared with 
the bright beams emanating from revelation: there 



260 



Harris's sermons 



" Who runs may read, and who reads may under- 
stand." There we have as much of the nature of God 
made known, as to convince us that he is entirely 
perfect — that he is entirely holy; and that man, of 
course, must have derived his impurity from some 
other source. There we have his will and his law, 
in which he gives us a view of the exceeding sin- 
fulness of sin. To that law there are penalties and 
sanctions affixed, of a piece with itself, and to en- 
courage the trembling sinner to seek immortal joys 
and shun immortal pains, the agency of the good 
Spirit of God is abundantly tendered* 

Who then, I would ask, who lives in sin, has not 
been reproved from that great source of heavenly 
light which we have mentioned ? Who has not felt 
himself condemned, who has taken the trouble to 
search that book with the attention which its im- 
portance demands ? Is there one who can rise up m 
this assembly, and say, he never felt conviction, 
while reading the word of God ? If so, he will per- 
mit me to say, that he did not open his eyes to the 
light which it contains ; he did not wish to receive 
instruction; he was in love with his sins and his 
chains. I could venture to affirm, that if any man 
would be candid, and lay open his mind to convic- 
tion, in reading the Bible, he would obtain views of 
God, himself, and sin, that would cause him to seek 
until he found the Lord. 

But in order that this book might be better calcu- 
lated to effect the reformation of which it speaks, the 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 561 

Almighty has provided ministers to preach, and ex- 
pound, and enforce it 44 Whether Paul, or Apol- 
los, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, 
or things present, or things to come ; all are yours."" 
Who of you, then, can say, (however you have la- 
boured to resist the light) that you were never 
reproved for your sin by the preaching of the Gos- 
pel ? What meant those inward emotions which you 
felt at such a time and place, when such a minister 
was preaching ? What meant those tears that would 
flow in spite of you, when you were almost ready 
to yield to love's redeeming power, and to fight no 
more against your God ? Then did the good Spirit 
say, Yield, sinner; O sinner, yield to be saved by 
grace ! Give up your heart to the Lord ; he waits 
to be gracious. But, alas ! where are those melt- 
ings now ? Fled ! fled, perhaps never to re tarn. 
You can now hear all the thunders of Sinai— you 
can hear God speak : you can hear all the alluring 
whispers of the Gospel when we speak of Christ 
crucified for your sins, and you feel not one soft 
affection move. You say, 44 Depart from me, O 
God." 

But there are many other circumstances which 
might be considered as reproofs to us, as sinners. 
Whose mind does not revert to the late war, arid 
the distresses of that occasion, when Rachels were 
weeping for their first-born, or infants for their 
fathers ? Whose mind does not revert to the alarm- 
ing catastrophe which took place in this city some 
years since by fire, when many of you lost that rela- 



262 



Harris's sermons 



tive who was most dear to you ? Whose mind does 
not recur to the time when your family was visited 
by death in the ordinary way ? Do you recollect 
when your mother was carried out to bury? Do 
you remember when you followed your child to 
the grave? Do you remember how you felt, when 
you sat down for the first time, with your children 
around your table, after your husband or your wife 
died? 

But we have not been reproved by judgments 
only. — How many mercies have you enjoyed, and 
O, how many have you abused ? You have enjoyed 
health — God gave it to you. You have enjoyed 
wealth — God gave it to you. You have enjoyed 
friends — God gave them to you. You have enjoyed 
peace — God gave it to you. And now, if God looks 
down, and sees and knows us, what must he be- 
hold ? Pride, and vain glory, and a hard heart. 

This leads to the second thing that was pro- 
posed. 

II. What we are to understand by hardening the 
heart, and how this is done. 

Sometimes hardening the heart, is put for an act of 
the Almighty, in a judicial point of view, as in the 
case ,of Pharaoh ; but, in our text, it is considered 
as the act of the sinner himself. We have already 
intimated, that this is an effort in the sinner to brave 
the terrors of Almighty wrath, and to sin without 
even the checks of conscience. It is in vain with 
^uch, that the Almighty has given them a revelation 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



263 



of his will : they love their sins, and therefore will 
not suffer his word to have its desired effect on their 
hearts. In vain may the Spirit strive ; they resist 
his operations, or drown their emotions in intem- 
perance, or company, or dissipation. In vain may 
the Lord speak his power in the voice of thunder ; 
they dismiss their alarms, as soon as the cloud is 
removed. In vain may the Lord send them the 
softening influence of the Gospel : if they are 
obliged to feel its effects for a moment, they soon 
say, " Go thy way for this time let me get rid of 
my present alarm, and then I will hear you again. 
In vain may the Lord visit them with judgments of 
war, or fire, or sickness, or death : if they for a 
moment feel the necessity of religion, they hasten 
to lose their alarm in the cares, honours, or pleasures 
of the world. In vain the Almighty blesses them 
with health : they make it a curse to themselves, by 
abusing its ardour in the pursuit of sin. In vain 
does he give them riches : they make them minis- 
ters to pride, and luxury, and self-indulgence ; and 
though the Lord cries out, " Hear, O heavens ! and 
give ear, O earth ! for I have nourished and brought 
up children, and they have rebelled against me !" 
" Yet they say, who is the Almighty, that I should 
serve him; and what profit shall I have, if I pray 
unto him. Surely it is a vain thing to serve the 
Lord." If after war he blesses them with peace, 
they forget the rock of their salvation, and perhaps 
burn incense to their own net, or sacrifice to their 



264 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



own drag. If he has blessed them with a circle of 
friends, they perhaps make use of their utmost en- 
deavours to prevent them from embracing reli- 
gion. 

O how many ways are there for sinners to harden 
the heart, and blunt the emotions of conscience. If 
you would be candid, would you not be forced to 
acknowledge that you have been guilty in this re- 
spect? And what do you think will be the conse- 
quence ? 

This leads to the third thing that was proposed., 
namely, 

III. To speak something of the sudden destruction 
which must be the result of this obstinacy. This is 
expressed in the words of the text, they shall be 
suddenly destroyed, and that without remedy. Great 
God ! how truly alarming is the expression, issuing 
from the lips of eternal truth. 

We said in our introduction, that this destruction 
was, the having all the faculties of the soul, which 
are calculated to be inlets to pleasure, to become 
eternal inlets to anguish and wo. What pleasure 
must it yield the pious, in eternity, to employ their 
improved understandings in tracing the perfections of 
Deity, which all stand engaged to make them bless- 
ed. But O ! what destruction and perversion of 
this power must it be, to employ, through eternity, 
the wretched understanding in contemplating that 
power, holiness, and justice, which must ever inflict 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



2Ga 



anguish and wrath on the lost sinner, who hard- 
ened his heart, and would have none of the reproofs, 
of the Almighty. 

That memory, which will yield an exquisite de- 
light to the upright when they get to heaven, by 
recalling circumstances in which they will then see 
that the hand of the Lord was upon them for good ; 
will augment ihe misery of the sinner, by recalling 
the seasons of grace which he has so frequently en- 
joyed and so unceasingly abused, by hardening his 
heart and casting off his fears. That will, which, 
having been brought into subjection to the will of God ? 
shall yield a perennial stream of joy to the blessed ; 
must yield to the sinner, whose will has not been con- 
quered, the bitterest wo, while, chained down under 
the awful frowns of that God whom he hates, he 
feels the vengeance of eternal fire. Those tender 
affections which the blessed shall feel, and which 
shall bind them to the bosom of God, shall be turn* 
ed into the most invincible hatred in the case of the 
lost soul. 

Brethren, my heart makes a noise within me. 
How terrible is this destruction that awaits the sin- 
ner, who, being often reproved, continues to harden 
his heart ! You have read of famines, and earth- 
quakes in divers places ; but what are these to the 
destruction of the soul ? You have heard of popu- 
lous cities demolished in a day ; but what is this to 
the destruction of a soul in hell ? An attempt to 
express it is vain : human thought cannot reach so 
far, as to conceive the horrid state of that sinner. 

34 



266 Harris's sermons 

who, having enjoyed the glorioas light of the Gos- 
pel, has hardened his heart, sinned away his day of 
grace, and just entered into an eternity of wo. 

But this destruction shall he sudden — unexpect- 
ed. Yes, you are crying peace and safety, while 
sudden destruction is at the door. Yes, sinner, 
when you least expect it, God shall say, cut down 
that fig-tree, why cumbereth it the ground ? Yes, 
swearer, you will swear but few more times. Yes, 
drunkard, you have almost drunk your last cup. 
Liar, you will soon have done telling lies. Adul- 
terer, a few more debauches and you will tumble 
into hell. Yes, extortioner, you who disregard the 
cries of the poor, shall soon hear the groans of the 
damned. Yes, Gospel-slighter, you shall soon pe- 
rish, and that without remedy. To be in pain when 
there is no remedy — this is hell with a witness. 
When you have been sick, you have had a physi- 
cian ; when you have been hungry, you have had 
something to eat ; when thirsty, something to drink. 
When the sinner has become penitent, he has had 
the blood and mercy of Christ to resort unto ; but 
the destruction of which we speak, excludes all 
these mitigations. Then no minister to preach — no 
father and mother to pray— no Saviour to plead our 
- cause — no mountain to fall on us, and hide us from 
the presence of him that sits on the throne, and from 
the wrath of the Lamb. No, sinner — You must 
Stand forth as a mark for the thunderbolts of eternal 
vengeance. You must plunge into a fiery world. 
You must be punished with everlasting destruction 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



267 



from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory 
of his power. You must for ever bear the wrath of 
a sin-avenging God. 

Sinner, though jou have often been reproved, 
and heretofore have hardened your heart; in the 
strength of that God whose I am, I will make one 
more effort. Hear it then, O sinner. If you do not 
repent, you must perish : — if you do not forsake your 
wickedness, you shall fall by the sword of eternal 
vengeance. Hell moves from beneath, to meet you 
at your coming — the scale begins to turn — already 
you are almost gone — thy soul shall be required at 
thy hands in a few days. 

And now I shall call witnesses to attest the effort 
I have made for your good. Hear it, O God ! Thou 
solemn God of heaven ; and all ye powers above, 
saints, angels, ye fathers and mothers of these 
young people who are now in heaven, hear it ! I 
this day have warned your children on earth. Yea, 
ye damned in hell, bear witness, and prepare fresh 
aggravation for the sinner, who still stands it out 
against the calls of mercy ! 

But I am not satisfied. Miserable comfort ! I 
had rather you would repent — I had rather you 
would return. But, says one, what shall I do ? 
First, fall down, and thank God that you are not 
damned already ; and then, with the greatest speed, 
fly to Jesus. And will he receive me? O yes, he 
will receive you, and abundantly pardon you, for he 
waits to be gracious. " The Spirit and the Bride say, 
Come. And let him that heareth say, Gome. And 



268 Harris's sermons on important subjects. 



let him that is athirst come. And whosoever wilL 
let him take the water of life freely." 

I know not what more to say. — You mistake us 9 
brethren, if you suppose that we preach for any 
thing but your salvation. Would to God you could 
feel the importance of religion. 

But we will commit you to God. You must make 
your own improvement of what has been said. O 
God ! do thou be pleased to make thine own word 
quick and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged 
sword. 

To God only wise, be honour and glory for ever, 
Amen. 

/ • 



i 



SERMON XXVI, 



Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts. 

Psalms li. 6, 

Man is a being of circumscribed capacities ; in 
consequence of which his knowledge of many sub- 
jects must be defective. But perhaps he seldom 
misses the mark further, than when he proposes to 
himself, as a subject of contemplation, the divine 
perfections. » 

Through the association of ideas in the human 
mind, and the help of analogy and , inference, we 
may form something like correct sentiments on some 
subjects. But who, by searching, can find out God ? 
" For who in the heavens can be compared to the 
Lord ? Who among the sons of the mighty can be 
likened unto the Lord." 

Although man, in his original state, bore the near- 
est resemblance to his Maker of any created being; 
yet, clad as he is at present with the tissue of de- 



270 



Harris's sermons 



ception, by which he easily imposes on his fellow- 
creature ; if he form his idea of his God by com- 
paring him with himself, he will obscure, he will 
eclipse the glory of that Being, whose thoughts are 
not like our thoughts : — that Being that planted the 
ear, that formed the eye, that chastiseth the hea- 
then, and teacheth man knowledge ; and, of course, 
that Being, who must hear, see, know, and correct. 
These inadequate conceptions, this ignorance of 
God, may be denominated the mother of hypocrisy. 
Hypocrisy, whose fruitful womb, impregnated by 
the fell demon of hell without any abortion, has 
given birth to a progeny, odious and numerous as 
the croaking fry of Egypt. 

But of all the offspring of hypocrisy, false piety, 
perhaps, bears the nearest resemblance to her 
mother. Indeed you would take her for the same, 
though she attempts to disguise herself with a veil. 
My brethren, it is my present design to guard you 
against this hellish prude, I mean false piety ; for be 
you well assured, that thousands of the human fami- 
ly have been sacrificed on her altars, whose groan- 
ing ghosts fill all hell with waitings. Would you be 
delivered from her destroying hand ? Let your piety 
be entire, disinterested, and internal. 

I. Entire, — taking in whatever concerns the ser- 
vice of God, both counsels and precepts. 

U. Disinterested, — seeking only God and his 
kingdom, without any regard to temporal advan- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



271 



lages; or, at least, not making these our leading 
motive in our piety. 

III. Internal, — residing in the heart, and issuing 
from the heart. 

Bend, I beseech you, your whole attention to 
these three points. We have not treated, nor do 
we ever expect to treat, of a subject more useful or 
important. For behold, God desireth truth in the in- 
ward parts. 

I take up no time, my brethren, to explain the 
terms of the text. Every one must see, at once, 
that the meaning is similar to that of our Lord, 
where he says, " God is a Spirit, and they that 
worship him, must worship him in spirit and in 
truth." Or, in other words, our piety must be ar- 
dent, and at the same time proceed from sincerity 
of heart, to render us agreeable in the divine 
sight. 

I. Our piety, to be acceptable to God, must be 
entire; taking in whatever concerns the service of 
God. 

I think, my brethren, if we have studied human 
nature, we have discovered a disposition in man to 
appease the tumult of his mind, to silence the cla- 
mours of his conscience by a false piety ; the cha- 
racter of which is, to be exact to a degree of scru- 
pulosity in small matters, and at the same time to 
neglect the most important points of the law of God. 
A piety this, which, under the colour of an imaginary 



272 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



perfection, inflames the mind with pride, and ren- 
ders us detestable in the eyes of God. This is the 
insupportable abuse which the Son of God con- 
demned in the devotionalists of the synagogue, when 
he thus addressed them : " Wo unto you, scribes and 
Pharisees, hypocrites!" your whole piety amounts 
to no more than the observance of certain ceremo- 
nies and customs. " Ye pay tithe of mint, of anise 
and cummin, and have omitted the weightier mat- 
ters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith." If any 
little matter of tradition or custom was in question, 
they were exact to superstition. " Blind guides, ye 
strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." 

Now, my brethren, is there not a striking likeness 
between this piety and that of these times? Does 
not this detestable principle still subsist even in the 
very centre of Christianity? A man has his fixed 
times for prayer, for reading the Scriptures, and 
going to the sacrament. He has marked himself a 
track, and he resolves that nothing shall induce him 
to omit one single point of his prescribed duty. But 
listen to his conversation — he spares nobody — he 
seems to be deputed from heaven for the general 
reformation of manners — he arraigns all mankind 
at his bar. See, my brethren, the flame begin to 
enkindle on his tongue, that sets on fire the whole 
course of nature, and is set on fire of hell. Only 
behold this pious man, when he thinks himself in- 
sulted : there is no satisfaction which he doth not 
demand — there is no reparation can satisfy him— 
his cause he thinks is the cause of God, nor can 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



273 



you make him believe he is wrong in the smallest 
degree. 

Look at that pious woman — Reading, prayer, and 
meditation, make up the duties of every day — her 
conscience would explode if she were to miss one 
duty. What the accuser of the brethren said of 
Job, would be much more suitable to her; touch 
her but with your finger, and she will curse you to 
your face. Let a minister of the Gospel erect its 
proper standard ; let him take the pruning knife ; 
let him apply the scissors of the Gospel to her, and 
he will find her haughty and impatient. What has 
that man to do with my dress ? It is a great breach 
of manners to collect people together, and then rail 
out against dress, especially when he sees we are 
so fond of it : he shows very great weakness of 
mind indeed, to notice such trifles. I know some 
as good preachers as he is, who permit their people 
to wear just what they please. Will you be so good 
as to give me another commission ? For, according 
to this which I received from Christ, I am to cry 
aloud and spare not. It bids me take the foxes, the 
little foxes that spoil the vine. In one word, I am 
bidden by Christ Jesus to urge the necessity of re- 
generation, which will produce meekness, humility, 
and plainness. But you would have me to speak of 
man, as a fallen and weak creature ; not as one who 
possesses a heart deceitful above all things, and 
desperately wicked. You would have me to speak 
of the necessity of repentance, but to speak of it as 
a thing that does not entirely embitter sin, but only 

m 



274 



Harris's sermons 



makes us cut off some enormities. You would have 
us speak of regeneration, but you would have us be- 
lieve and preach that it is nothing more than bap- 
tism ; or, at most, nothing more than a sort of 
friendship for professors of religion that move in 
the higher circles. And as to the carnal amuse- 
ments of the day, you wish us to let every man be 
fully persuaded in his own mind respecting these 
things. And if any thing is said about dress, you 
wish us to intimate that this is indifferent, and that 
the time is come in which we may gather grapes off* 
thorns, and figs off thistles ; or, in other words, that 
there are many immaculate virgins who wear the 
attire of harlots. My brethren, were I to preach 
such a Gospel as this, if St. Paul's prayer were to be 
answered, I should be accursed. 

But to return, — let us not limit piety to certain 
points of devotion, and neglect the foundation ; nei- 
ther let us confine ourselves to the ground work, so 
as to give up all the practices of true religion. Our 
piety, to be acceptable to God, must be entire ; for 
God looketh for truth in the inward parts. For 
thus saith St. Paul, although I should speak all the 
languages in the world, and even the language of 
angels ; though I had the gift of prophesy, and were 
instructed in the mysteries of God, so that nothing 
could escape the extent of my knowledge ; although 
I should work miracles, so as to transport moun- 
tains ; and though I should lay out every farthing I 
am worth in relieving the poor ; — should offer myself 
for martyrdom, and deliver my body to the most 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



27f> 



cruel torments ; if I have not charity or the love of 
God, (and how can I have it, if I do not keep his 
commandments?) I am nothing; or, at most, no 
more than a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 
And again, hear what Jesus Christ saith to John, 
who, in the sudden perplexity into which he was 
thrown by the humility of his master, refused to 
baptise him ; " Suffer it to be so now, for thus it 
becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Again, I 
repeat it, piety, to be acceptable to God, must be 
entire. And it must be 

II. Disinterested. 

1 think we may, with great propriety, denominate 
self-interest the cardinal passion of the heart. It is 
this which gives ardour to almost every action of 
life. By self-interest, in this place, I would have 
you understand self-love. This selfish principle in- 
sinuates itself into all places, and on all occasions. 
• Even piety hath not escaped the baneful influence 
of self-interest, which cankers every thing most pure 
and holy in religion. This detestable principle, 
detestable in its abuse, was noticed by Mr. Bun- 
yan, and by him denominated By-Ends. This was 
the ruling passion of the Pharisees: their end was 
honour and profit. Hence, whatever the good and 
virtuous were accustomed to do from principles of 
true piety, they did from principles of false. In 
consequence of their long prayers, their fastings, 
their mortification, and strict attention to the duties 
of piety ; the people, too credulous and easily mis- 



276 



Harris's sermons 



led by appearances, entertained a very high opi- 
nion of them. The consequence was, that many 
pious women, with good intent, but with the weak- 
ness of their sex, entrusted them with their income, 
and made them wealthy. Hence our Saviour ac- 
cused them of " devouring widows' houses;" and St 
Paul says of them, that they " led captive silly 
women." 

Let us not suppose, that this detestable principle 
has become extinct, since the days of the Pharisees. 
A man fancies that with the garb of religion he can 
at once accomplish his end, and conceal his de- 
sign: he hesitates not to put it on — he mingles in 
his looks the piety of Abraham, the meekness of 
Moses, and the fervour of Isaiah ; and according to 
the language of the last-mentioned prophet, he 
makes God to serve in his sins. 

Nor are females always clear of this deception. 
They sometimes accomplish that by art, which 
would baffle their strength ; and too plainly do they 
show, when they have effected their worldly pur- 
pose, or despair its accomplishment, that they 
were using a mask of deception. How abominable 
must that false piety be in the eyes of God ? To 
Serve the world for God, is a virtue; to serve the 
world for the world, is a vice ; what then must it 
be to serve God for the world ? For then we pro- 
pose our interest as the end, and we consider God 
as a means only to obtain that end, and we would 
have God to serve us. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



27}- 



We might go further, and affirm that these inte- 
rested motives have carried men even into the sa- 
cred altars. They have made a good salary a 
greater consideration in their call; they have had 
a greater regard to the emolument they expected 
to draw from the ministry, than a real desire to feed 
the flock of God. And what is worst of all, "my 
people love to have it so." They prefer the somno- 
lent opiates of these downy doctors, to the bread of 
life. Such was not St. Paul. How carefully did he 
banish from his person the slightest suspicion of 
private interest. He endeavoured to help the Co- 
rinthians to recognize the characteristic of disinte- 
restedness. — Consider our conduct and situation, and 
judge if it be a secret thirst of applause which af- 
fects us — We are made a spectacle to the world, 
and to angels, and to men, even to this present hour. 
We both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are 
buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place : being 
reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; 
being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the 
filth and ofFscouring of all things. Happy for us, if 
we can attain to the same disengagement from the 
world ; — happy for us, if our piety should be disin- 
terested ; for God looketh for truth in the inward 
parts. 

III. ft only remains for us to see, that our piety is 
internal ; residing in the heart, and issuing from the 
heart. There is no sin more offensive to God, than 
that" superficial piety, which offers to him only the 



278 



Harris's sermons 



service of the knee, the lips, and the countenance. L 
God has declared, that the heart is the only sacri- 
fice which is acceptable in his sight. Indeed it is h 
in the heart that the life of the righteous man con- 
sists, and it is with the heart only that he can please 
God. The heart was requisite to true piety, even q 
under the old law, insomuch that God bespeaks the 
Jews, who had lost the spirit of devotion in the ex- h 
ternal service of the temple, in this way ; " He that ! 
killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man ; he that sacri- i 
ficeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that li 
oflfereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood ; 
he that burnetii incense, as if he blessed an idol." t! 
Although every circumstance of their sacrifices was h 
prescribed by the Almighty himself, yet he assured d 
them, that they were no longer acceptable, when 
offered by those who chose their own ways, and i 
whose souls delighted in their abominations. But 
if the affection of the heart was necessary to con- r 
stitute true piety under the old law, how much more " I 
so under the evangelical law of Jesus Christ, who i 
styles none true adorers, but such as worship the 
Father in spirit and in truth. j 

Our blessed Saviour, almost in all his precepts, 
earnestly endeavoured to free the world of phari- 
saical religion. " Wo unto you, scribes and Phari- 
sees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside 
of the cup and of the platter." And again, Wo 
•.into you, because ye are like unto whited sepul- 
chres, beautiful without, but within full of dead 
men's bones. "Not every one that saith unto me.. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



279 



Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; 
but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in 
heaven." 

If then Christ have given us correct views on this 
subject, what must we think of many, even of the 
most specious works, done by our modern religion- 
ists ? We attend the house of God : we join to sing 
hymns, which contain a whole body of divinity; 
hymns which express the liveliest sentiments of re- 
pentance, faith, hope, and love ; but after all, we 
have not made one act of penitence, faith, hope, or 
love. The reason is, the heart had no share in what 
the lips uttered. We bend the knee, or bow the 
head in the most humble and suppliant posture 
during the time of prayer, and we listen with the 
utmost attention to the Gospel of God ; but during 
the whole time we spend in this manner, perhaps we 
perform not one duty, we render not the least ado- 
ration to God. The reason is, religion consists in 
humility of mind, and the mind hath not accompa- 
nied, one moment, all these demonstrations of re- 
spect and adoration. We visit the sick, we feed the 
hungry, we aid religious institutions; and after all 
our zeal and assiduity, perhaps we perform not one 
act of mercy. We are impelled by a certain natu- 
ral activity, or affected by a compassion quite hu- 
man, or drawn on by the tide of custom, or influ- 
enced by some other object beside God and his 
glory. Nay, though there may be a degree of sin- 
cerity in our hearts, a frequent repetition of the du- 
ties of religion may, by little and little, diminish that 



280 



HARRISES SERMONS 



fervour which we felt at first ; and though such can- 
not be called formal hypocrites, jet they deceive 
the public and themselves too. A man passes for a 
saint — we judge by the appearance — we extol one, 
and look on another as a pattern of virtue, but per- 
haps it is but a phantom, or false light. Alas! 
brother, said one, be what you appear to be, or 
cease to appear to be what you are not. 

But we deceive ourselves : we think we lead truly 
Christian lives : we are not chargeable with the de- 
testable designs of hypocrisy, as others are : and 
perhaps we shall not find out the mistake, until we 
present ourselves at the throne for a crown; and 
then will the Judge say unto such, " I never knew 
you ; depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." 

Wherefore, my brethren, let us rectify our notions 
in time, and let us follow the advice of the apostle, 
and do whatsoever we do, in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, and doing his will as from the heart ; for, be- 
hold, God looketh for truth in the inward parts. For 
be you assured, that any thing short of a true, faith, 
working by love and purifying the heart, will be of 
no avail in a coming day. 

Alas! so many have made pretensions to piety, 
whose piety is false, that what should be considered 
an occasion of praise, is unfortunately become an 
occasion of reproach. The very word piety, which 
expresses whatever is most lovely and attractive in 
the Christian religion, carries with it, now-a-days, a 
suspicion that eclipses all its splendour and glory. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



281 



If we would restore to Christianity the true glory 
of which it has been deprived by unholy hands, let 
us give God our hearts. Let us begin with that, go 
en with that, and conclude with that. 

May God help us, for Christ's sake ! f 



m 



SERMON XXVII 

sgmg? ww/o ^/ic//i a//, //* »icm mm// come after me 7 
let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and 
follow me. Matthew xvi. 24. 

My brethren, with what intent do you suppose we 
have ascended this pulpit ? Is it to cover the gulf to 
which mistaken notions of religion lead with flowery 
and inviting verdure ; or, in other words, to enter- 
tain the false hopes of our fellow Christians, by the 
concealment or softening of necessary truth? Do 
you expect to hear us say, that it is perfectly com- 
patible with the Christian religion to idolize the 
world ? Do you expect us to justify that breathless 
pursuit of pleasure, which reason alone declares to 
be unworthy of thinking beings? Do you expect, 
this day, to receive from us a license to diversify 
and give zest to an eternal round of emptiness ? Do 
you expect us to persuade you, that a life of prayer, 
penitence, and self-denial, (if they mean any thing at 
all) are not applicable to Christians in our day j or, 



HARRIS'S SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 283 



if they are, that they consist well with a life of car- 
nal pleasure ? Do you expect us to teach you how 
to obtain an immortal crown, without following the 
footsteps of a crucified Redeemer ? No, my brethren 
— As Balaam said, " If Balak would give me his 
house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the 
word of the Lord, to do less or more." We view, 
with horror, that temporal Gospel, if I may so speak, 
that is interpreted by the passions, and accommo- 
dated to the delicacy of semi-Christians. 

My brethren, with a liberty which the Gospel 
allows to its ministers, and with an anxiety with 
which it inspires them for the salvation of their fel- 
low creatures, I appear before you to thunder those 
precepts or truths, which disown that misconception 
of the religion of Jesus Christ, at which we have 
glanced : truths which assure us, that the edifice of 
Christian salvation can only be erected on the wreck 
of crucified nature; assure us, that no man can serve 
God and the world ; assure us, that those who are 
full, and laugh now, shall one day weep and mourn ; 
assure us, that the world shall rejoice, but that his 
disciples shall be sorrowful, and that their sorrow 
shall be turned into joy: in one word, assure us, 
that if any man will go after him, he must deny 
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow 
him. 

How is it, my brethren, that even the most zealous 
efforts of the ministry are unequal to induce prac- 
tice in accordance with those truths with which the 



284 



HARRIS S SERMONS 



Gospel building is edified ? That building, which 
shall stand when this earth shall be sought for, but 
in vain ? Is not the cause, when analized, expressed 
in this one word, — a misguided self-love ? What else 
is the spirit of the world, which stands in opposition 
to the Spirit of Christ, but a spirit of pride and self- 
seeking ? A scheme of happiness in which God is 
neither Alpha nor Omega? A scheme which de- 
thrones Jesus Christ, and banishes him from the 
heart ; while the unrenewed will usurps the sceptre, 
and exercises the most tyrannical dominion over the 
whole soul. 

Jesus Christ, who came to deliver us from this 
yoke of sin, points out in our text the principles of 
the Christian's life ; and the steps by which he is to 
attain to perfect liberty, and regain the image of 
God and his original dignity. This is to be done, 

I. By getting the consent of his will. If any man 

will, &c. 

II. By self-renunciation. Let him deny himself. 

i 

III. By embracing the conditions which God has 
appointed, and bearing the troubles and difficulties 
he may meet with, in walking the Christian road. 

Let him take up his cross daily. 

IV. By imitating Jesus, and doing and suffering 
all in his Spirit. Let him follow me. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



285? 



I. The first step in the attainment of religion, is 
the getting the consent of our will. Here, without 
any sort of disguise, I purpose to let you have what 
I consider a scriptural view of the agency of man. 
We conceive that all intelligent and accountable 
beings, were created with what is called a will: that 
is, a power whereby they freely choose or refuse ob- 
jects. Milton expresses this sentiment very beautifully: 

Ingrate ! he had of me 
All he could have ; I made him just and right, 
Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall. 
Such I created all th' ethereal powers, 
And spirits, both them who stood and them who fail'd : 
Truly they stood who stood, and fell who fell. 
Not free, what proof could they have given sincere 
Of true allegiance, constant faith or love, 
Where only what they needs must do appear'd, 
Not what they would ? What praise could they receive ? 
What pleasure I from such obedience paid, 
When will and reason (reason also is choice)' 
Useless and vain of freedom both despoiPd, 
Made passive both, had serv'd necessity, 
Not me ? 

Of this liberty, however, man was deprived by the 
fall, and he became too blind to see, and too cor- 
rupt to choose, tile good. To this power and light 
he is restored by that Day-Star from on high who 
hath brought life and immortality to light by the 
Gospel. Nor can we conceive that this expression 
of our Saviour, 44 Ye will not come unto me that ye 
might have life," savours of unjust upbraiding. Nor 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



are the terms of salvation incongruous to our nature, 
which say, " If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall 
eat of the good of the land ; but if ye refuse and , 
rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword ; for the 
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Remark, my 
brethren* on what the condemnation of the sinner is 
founded : " This is the condemnation, that light is ! 
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather 
than light, because their deeds were evil." 

You will not regard us as wishing to intimate, that 
man, since the fall, has power to do good works, i 
pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace i 
of God by Christ assisting him. We know that ] 
those who are in the flesh, cannot please God. But i 
let us notice here the advantages of the covenant of i 
grace. " Ask, and you shall receive ; seek, and you I 
shall find." So that we are left without excuse, and i 
shall be speechless, if, at last, we are found without i 
the wedding garment. A sentiment at variance with 1 
this, would destroy both the agency and accounta- 
bleness of man; and go as near to prove that he i 
cannot be sinful, as that he cannot be holy. I again 
repeat it, the first step in religion, is getting the \ 
consent of our will. And how is this to be effected ? 
By getting a deep sense of the holiness of God, the 
sinfulness of sin, and the awfulness of standing be- 
fore God in judgment. If through the aid of the 
Holy Spirit, by our earnest endeavours, we make r 
the former discoveries, we shall not find it difficult I 
to obtain the consent of our will to be religious. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS* 



287 



II. The second thing mentioned in the text, as 
necessary to a Christian life, is self-renunciation. 



The principle of self-will, and the principle of 
evangelical holiness, cannot hold equal sway in the 
same heart. Therefore as we yield obedience to 
the sceptre of righteousness, we must rebel against 
the law of sin and self. We are to renounce that 
wisdom which is earthly, sensual, and devilish ; and 
we are to seek that wisdom which is from above, 
which is pure and peaceable, gentle, easy to be en- 
treated, and full of good fruits. Instead of that 
pride and self-righteousness which mark the cha- 
racter of the unrenewed, we are to seek to be poor 
in spirit, and receive Christ not only as our wisdom ? 
but also as our righteousness. We are to deny our 
carnal lusts and appetites, our worldly honour and 
ease, and whatever might clog, retard, or turn us 
back from following the Lord. 

From a slight examination on this ground, we are 
ready to suppose that we have done all this. But 
alas ! a very little attention to the aspect of affairs 
will convince us, that many professors in the higher, 
and sometimes in the lower classes, indulge the lust 
of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, 
To mention one thing among many, how often do we 
see pride and extravagance, manifest in the article 
of dress. If we have measurably lost our relish for 
these things, as they relate to ourselves, yet we suf- 
fer and teach our children to idolize the fluttering 
gewgaws worn by a fine lady, 




Harris's sermons 



In the name of pure religion and its glorious Au- 
thor, 1 call on parents neither to countenance this 
evil by their own example, nor, contrary to the re- 
proaches of conscience, to connive at it in their chil- 
dren. You cannot be ignorant, that you are helping 
them to erect an altar on which their innocence and 
virtue may finally bleed and expire. You cannot 
be ignorant of the solemn account you have to render ; 
you cannot be ignorant that Jesus Christ is the parent 
of your children, much more than you are yourselves ; 
that he has redeemed them with his blood ; that he has 
marked them in his cradle for his own with the seal 
of the new covenant; and entrusted them to your 
vigilance, as the daughter of Pharaoh did the child 
she had saved, to the mother of Moses. — " Take and 
nurse this child, and I will pay thee thy wages." 
These precious deposits will be demanded at our 
hands; and, depend upon it, if there be an indisputa- 
ble truth under heaven, it is this ; that should our 
children be made victims to a divinity to whom we 
sacrifice their salvation, though we otherwise appear 
before God with accumulated virtues, our wages 
will be blood for blood, eternity for eternity. If any 
man will be my disciple, let him deny himself. 

III. The third item of duty, obligatory on those 
who would be religious, is to^embrace the condi- 
tions which God has appointed, and bear the afflic- 
tions they may meet with in walking the Christian 
road. Let him take up his cross daily. 



QN IMPORTANT SUBJFXTS. 



289 



This is a figurative expression, and alludes, no 
doubt, to the Roman custom of making criminals 
carry the cross to which they were to be fastened ; 
and was a strong intimation, that he who carried it, 
should himself be crucified. And I suppose that our 
Saviour intended to intimate, that no man could be 
a real Christian, who would not submit to every 
providential affliction, and be ready to expose him- 
self, in the way of duty, to persecution, losses, and 
sufferings ; yea, and even to death itself. We, my 
brethren, are so happy as to live in an age in which 
persecution deprives no man of life. But let us not 
imagine that the real Christian has no cross to bear. 
The young convert sometimes feels a degree of 
shame in deserting the thick ranks of the world, and 
going o~ver to the thin and deserted ranks of religion. 
And the devil would frequently tempt us to sacrifice 
our inclinations, our conviction, our souls, from, 
dread of the world's ridicule. But shocking is the 
very idea of placing the Supreme Majesty of heaven 
in the balance with such a principle as this. What ? 
shall we know God only in secret, while the world 
has our open homage ? Shall we, like Rachel, con- 
ceal and adore him in our tents, unknown to our 
brethren? Shall we ask the Lord to be satisfied 
with the private declarations of our sentiments, and 
at the same time beseech him to condescend gra- 
ciously to spare us the mortification of adopting a 
system to which the world attaches shame and dis- 
grace ? What deplorable weakness ! Shall the liber- 
tine glory in his vice, and shall the Christian Mush 

37 ^Wi® 



Harris's sermons 



at that which constitutes his true glory ? Is it to the 
world, then, that we shall be responsible ? If we are 
sentenced, will the world stand between us and exe- 
cution ? Do you know, that the world and its judg- 
ments are to be judged ? If God justify us, what 
matter if the world condemn us ? 

Do such Christians reflect, to what end such a 
system may lead ; that it not only stands in the way 
of the infinite good which their example might do. 
bit also forces them to sacrifice their consciences to 
the manners of the world ? Do they reflect, that it 
forces them, with their own trembling hands, to cast 
their children into the vortex of worldly manners, 
and thus train them to perish through a spirit of 
cowardice ? If any man will be my disciple, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross, as it relates to profes- 
sion. 

And not only in profession, for we shall find a 
cross in many of the duties of religion, which we 
might particularize. We will only mention the 
cross often realized in attending to family religion, 
family prayer, reading the Scriptures, bringing up 
our children in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord, and executing proper discipline. Here is the 
cross ; but let a man bear it, if he will be my dis- 
ciple, saith Jesus Christ, 

IV. The last genuine character of Christianity, is 
the doing all things in the temper and Spirit of 
Christ. Let him follow me, in all humility, patience, 
faith, perseverance; steadfast and immoveable in 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



291 



the work of the Lord, whether to do, or to suffer, 
according to his holy will. 

My brethren, Jesus Christ is the example of the 
Christian ; and though we may never expect to at- 
tain to that holiness which he possessed; yet we 
should endeavour to imitate him, who, from the 
first moment of his mortal life, was eminently every 
thing which he taught. He is our model, without 
conformity to which, to the utmost of our power, 
we shall infallibly be lost. It is the temper and 
Spirit of Jesus Christ, studied and imitated, that 
constitutes a real Christian. 

But have we not reason to think that true religion is 
very scarce, if this is its nature. Are we called to con- 
stant combat with the world, and our corrupt affec- 
tions, and do we nourish these domestic enemies ? Is 
the Christian a pilgrim, who, at every step, sighs for 
his heavenly home ; and would we still establish, in 
this valley of tears, our everlasting abode? Does 
the Christian consider afflictions to be mercies, 
and the most exalted degree of human prosperity 
but a precipice ; and do we recoil from the one, and 
attach every charm to the other? Is the Christian 
all spiritual, and are we all earthly ; and yet do we 
flatter ourselves with the hope of heaven ? Be not 
deceived : If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

These were the terms of discipleship, when Christ 
himself was on the earth; and these are still the 
terms, and such will they remain, until the heavens 
and earth shall pass away: neither the force nor 



^92 



Harris's sermons 



corruption of times, can render them more austere, 
or more indulgent. 

Why is it, my brethren, that we do not set about 
the work of reformation and salvation, when we 
have so much to do, and so little time to do it in ? 
It is to the incomprehensible oblivion of our mortali- 
ty, that we are to attribute the general forge tfulness 
of the things of God. 

And why do men forget their own mortality ? Is it. 
because we have seen none of the ravages of death ? 
Where is the man or woman who has not wept on 
the grave of some dear relative ? But how soon has 
the impression been erased ? Has the all-devouring 
tomb, instead of pronouncing on the vanity of all 
human pursuits, on the contrary, emitted sparks to 
rekindle our attachment to this poor world ? 

Let us suppose, my brethren, that the number of 
man's days were inscribed on his brow. Is it not 
clear, that such an awful certainty would beget the 
most profound and solemn reflection ? Would it be 
possible, for one moment, to banish the fatal term 
from his thoughts ? Would not his alarm increase, as 
the moment drew nigh that he should depart hence ? 
And had I such a register before me at this moment, 
with what invincible effect should I not call those to 
mercy, who have not a year, perhaps not a month, or 
week, — perhaps a shorter interval, between them 
and judgment. My brethren, though I am not sent 
to you with such heavy tidings, shall I address you 
with less effect, when I declare, that the great fea- 
ture of all nature is, rapidity of growth and declen- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 293 

sion. Ages are renewed, but the figure of the world 
passeth away. God alone remains the same. The 
torrent that sweeps along, runs at the base of his im- 
mutability ; and he sees with indignation, wretched 
mortals, as they pass along, insulting him by the 
visionary hope of sharing that attribute which be- 
longs to him alone. O! that solemn reckoning 
shall soon come, and then he who is filthy, shall be 
filthy still. Almighty God ! reach down thy mighty 
hand, and save us from the jaws of destruction ! 
Amen. 



SERMON XXVIII. 



Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to 
the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you : Who 
shall give account to him that is ready to judge the 
quick and the dead, 1 Peter iv. 4, 5. 

Notwithstanding the "greater part of man- 
kind believe in the doctrine of future rewards and 
punishments, I believe there are but few, who in de- 
fining the predisposing characters of the vessels of 
wrath and the vessels of mercy, would exclude them- 
selves from happiness. And though many would be 
ready to acknowledge the Scripture as the standard 
of religious character, and confess at the same time 
that they do not come up to the measure of obedi- 
ence required therein ; yet would they either endea- 
vour to explain away the full meaning of the incor- 
ruptible text, or they would find some salvo in the 
weakness of their nature, the strength of temptation, 
of the mercy of God. 



Harris's sermons on important subjects. 295 

Here our hearers are beforehand with us. They 
have wrenched our weapons out of our hands, and 
use them to ward off Gospel truth. We would fain 
bring the word of God to bear on their sins, but be- 
hold ! they have already guarded against that. — 
They have given the highest tone to every promise, 
and taken them all to themselves, though not one of 
them rightly belongs to them. And as to the threats 
of God's law, if they have considered them at all, 
they imagine they apply to some other than them- 
selves, although they are guilty of the very sins spe- 
cified in the denunciation. As to the weakness and 
sinfulness of our nature, and the mercy of God, 
which we would mention in order to induce the 
deepest humility and repentance, we find they have 
exaggerated both the one and the other. They 
have contemplated the mercy of God, unconnected 
either with his justice, truth, or holiness; and they 
have represented the weakness of human nature to 
themselves, unconnected with the promised assis- 
tance of divine grace. Or if for a moment they are 
compelled to feel the force of truth; if it unveil 
their secret hiding-places, they have yet another re* 
sort. They contrive to lose their present alarm in 
the prospect of future repentance. 

Surely a minister has need of all the prudence 
and skill that human nature can attain. For though 
his hearers may have made up their opinions on the 
Scriptures; yet he must remove them, if possible, 
and replace them with those which are more in \ml 



m 



296 



HARRISES SERMONS 



son with the divine perfections of its glorious Au- 
thor. — And he must endeavour to convince his hear- 
ers, that notwithstanding the weakness of the flesh 
and the strength of temptation, in consequence of 
offered grace, he that liveth in sin shall die. In one 
word, he has to combat the self-flattering delusion of 
those who have so long endeavoured to believe a 
lie, that they seem to be cursed with fatal success ; 
and are so far infatuated that they wonder others 
do not see as they do. Wherein they think it strange 
that ye run not with them. 

It is not necessary to detain you to give a particu- 
lar view of the occasion which gave rise to those 
words. I have not selected them to prevent a re- 
lapse into apostacy and idolatry. I have not ascend- 
ed this pulpit to explode the inhuman obscenities of 
Gentilism. These, which seem to have been the 
principal objects with St. Peter in this chapter, would 
not be exactly applicable to us : — not but that the 
spirit of backsliding prevails even among us; not 
but that there are many works of darkness wrought 
among us that could not behold the light ; but that 
both the kind of backsliding, and the kinds of wick- 
edness, are somewhat different now from what they 
were in the time St. Peter wrote. 

My principal object, in the selection of these words 5 
is to show, 

I. Generally, what in the text is expressed in par- 
ticular of the first converts to Christianity, namely 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



297 



the entire change both with respect to the inward 
principles, and the outward conduct, produced in all 
who become real Christians. 

II. The misconception and misrepresentation to 
which the change exposes them from the people of 
the world. 

III. The judgment which convicts those who re- 
vile and oppose them on account of it. 

I. I am to speak something of the entire change, 

bo^h with respect to the inward principle and the 

outward conduct, produced by a cordial adoption of 
evangelical truth. 

There is a disposition in the world to compromise 
with religion. And if the real Christian would give up 
some of his austerities and peculiar tenets, the world 
would readily cede some of her most enormous and 
disgraceful vices ; and there would be an amicable 
adjustment. It must be granted, that Christian laws, 
education, habits, and information, have had con- 
siderable effect on the tone of morals, and religious 
sentiments and feelings. But still the Christian re- 
collects, that 44 that which is born of the flesh, is 
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit." 
Every passage of Scripture which speaks of regene- 
ration, the new birth, justification, cleansing the 
fountain, making the tree good, grafting into the vine 
by faith, and such like, applies to us in the present 

38 



, 298 



HARRIS S SERMOiNS 



day with strong, and in all material respects, with 
unabated force. Notwithstanding the degrees of ig- 
norance and depravity may vary in different ages, 
yet the distinction between the world and the 
church is not less real and important, because it is 
less palpable. " All men are by nature born in 
sin :" — " the whole world lieth in wickedness." The 
great features of the world, apostacy, and idolatry, 
the forsaking of God, the fountain of living water, 
and hewing out for themselves broken cisterns that 
can hold no water ; — these features, I say, remain in 
every age. 

But all real Chiibtianss arc such as, having bgen 

enlightened and awakened to a sense of their dan- 
ger, have repented for their sins, and believed in the 
atonement and sacrifice of the Son of God : — not in- 
deed with a cold and unproductive faith, but with 
that faith which, as a high and animating principle, 
fills the soul with love to God, and causes its pos- 
sessor to walk in the Spirit, crucify the flesh with its 
affections and lusts, and endeavour in all things to 
glorify God in his body, and spirit, and substance. 

True religion is not merely the abstaining from 
gross sins, or the giving to God a part of our hearts, 
and some vacant moments of our time; while the 
bulk of both is entirely alienated from him. No, — 
godliness is the entire subjection and devotedness 
of the soul to God himself. It is the practical ac- 
knowledgment of his unlimited sovereignty, and the 
Unreserved dedication of our whole selves to hi? 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



299 



service. — To use the nervous language of the apos- 
tie, it is Christ formed in the heart by the powerful 
energy of the Holy Spirit, in consequence of which 
the person becomes a new creature, both with re- 
gard to his temper and practice. These are cha- 
racters inseparable from true godliness ;— and though 
they may not always be equally conspicuous, in con- 
sequence of the different capacities, habits, and dis- 
positions of men ; yet, still they are the very essence 
of godliness ; and if we attempt to supply their 
place, even with the strictest morality, which does 
not spring from a principle of regeneration and true 
holiness, we do but deceive and undo ourselves. 
Oh God, do thou be pleased to send home this 
scriptural doctrine to every heart ! 

Having insisted on the necessary change and 
character of every real Christian, we come, 

II. To speak of the misconception and misrepre- 
sentation to which the change exposes him. Wherein 
they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same 
excess of riot, speaking evil of you. 

The operation of the Holy Spirit is a work of its 
own kind. Nothing similar to it is to be found, by 
which we can precisely illustrate its influence, or 
explain its nature ; and whatever earthly image is 
used to aid our conceptions of this heavenly work, it 
is to be considered rather as an approximation to 
truth, than the truth itself. Hence it is, that though 
our Saviour beautifully illustrated the effects of the 



300 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



divine Spirit by the motion of the air, yet we may ven- 
ture to affirm, that no one understands the nature of 
this holy influence, but he that has experienced it : 
f speak of that degree of the Spirit which effects our 
regeneration. The enterprising mind of man, which 
would try every thing at the bar of human reason, 
being unable to fathom the deep mysteries of the 
Gospel with the line of human intellect, becomes 
palled; and the man cries out, like Bacon, who, 
when about to explore a new and difficult field of 
philosophy, said, " Either I'll find a way, or Fll make 
one." If he be a man of thought, he examines the 
word of God, he hears the experience of Christians, 
and at first is forced to acknowledge, " there is 
something here that I have not experienced. Well, 
what shall I do ? Shall I strive to rise to the stan- 
dard, or shall I bring down the standard to my 
own stature ?" He concludes that the latter is the 
easiest, and immediately musters up all the fallacies 
of reason in order to explain away the high tone 
of the Scriptures, and to compare such texts as 
speak of the indispensable necessity of regeneration, 
with those which seem merely to inculcate moral 
honesty. Thus he reasons himself out of the neces- 
sity of repentance and amendment of life, and thus 
deceives his soul. Having fixed this standard, he 
applies it to himself and feels satisfied ; and finally he 
becomes so rooted in his opinion, that he supposes 
all who carry the matter further than himself, must 
be hypocrites or enthusiasts, and wonders why they 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECT*. 



301 



do not see as he sees. Notwithstanding the difficul- 
ties he had to surmount in forming his opinion, he 
is now settled, and can find in his heart to retail, 
perhaps with increase, every supposed fault of one 
who makes a profession of the Gospel. My bre- 
thren, 1 have not launched into the sea of conjecture. 
I have only glanced at the true ground of that fatal 
calm which pervades so many of our minds, and 
which can be accounted for on no other principle 
than the one which I have mentioned. You come 
to this place with your minds made up on the sub- 
ject, and not with that teachable meekness which 
marks the character of those who receive benefit by 
hearing the Gospel. Indeed, to suppose otherwise, 
would be to reflect on your good sense. If you 
really believed in the necessity of repentance and 
regeneration, as we preach it, it would be impossi- 
ble, on the principle of good sense, to reconcile 
your faith and conduct. But the fact is, you most 
generally sit as critics, to see how far our doctrine 
meets your views ; and if we go beyond them, you 
immediately suppose it to be the effect of ignorance 
or enthusiasm, or the mere consequence of our 
ministerial profession. Nor do the private profes- 
sors of religion meet with a judgment less severe 
from the men of the world. 

III. We come now, thirdly, to speak of the judg- 
ment which shall convict those who revile and 
oppose the godly. 



302 



HARRIS'S SERMOiNS 



My brethren, the Scriptures give us to understand^ 
that the righteous are as the apple of God's eye : 
for when Saul was persecuting the church, the glori- 
fied Redeemer cried out, " Why persecutest thou 
me ?" and St. Jude saith, according to the sentiment 
of the text, 44 Behold the Lord cometh with ten 
thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon 
all, and to convince all that are ungodly among 
them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have 
ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches 
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 
But if, among us, the spirit of persecution has not 
raged, so as to inspire the persecutor with alarming 
fears on that ground ; yet a spirit of opposition to 
the Gospel, and to those who possess the power of 
religion, even at this time, disgraces the conduct of 
many, and exposes them to the wrath of a justly 
offended God. Yes, my hearers, God who is jea- 
lous of his own glory and truth, will assuredly enter 
into judgment with those who have added to the 
lenitives of the Gospel, and taken from the threats 
of God denounced against the unconverted. I fancy 
I see the Judge, together with the assembled uni- 
verse — The book being opened, he proceeds to 
judge them according to the pure doctrines contain- 
ed in it : — to one he says, " And are you regenerate 
and born of the Spirit?" "No, Lord." "And why 
are you not ?" " Because I did not believe in the 
doctrine." " But was not the doctrine clearly re- 
vealed in' the Bible, and was it not enforced by my 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 303 

ministers ?" " True, Lord, but I thought the regene- 
ration spoken of, referred merely to morality, and 
did not conceive that it implied an absolute change." 
To this the awful voice of God replies, 44 Since then 
thou hast changed my truth into a lie, depart from 
me, thou cursed, into everlasting fire." 

My brethren, it is not the contrary belief and 
practice of the whole world that can make the truth 
of God of none effect. And notwithstanding the 
doctrine of regeneration is disbelieved by many 
even of those who seem favourable to Christianity, 
yet God's truth stands firm, which says, 44 Except ye 
be regenerate and born again, ye cannot enter into 
the kingdom of God." 

Newbern, September 1th, 1817. 



am I 

SERMON XXIX. 



For all things are yours ; whether Paul, or ^polios, or 
Cephas, or the tvorld, or life, or death, or things present, m\ 
or things to come : all are yours. 

1 Cor. iii. 21, 22. 

In these impassioned words, we have the happy 
privileges of Christians, magnificently set forth in a 
full and vehement enumeration of particulars, and a 
noble gradation which rises up to heaven, and with 
the addition of the next verse terminates in God 
himself. But how is it, my brethren, that this rich 
inventory of blessings should belong to those, of 
whom, in the very next chapter, it is said, " We are 
fools, we are weak, we are despised, we hunger, we 
thirst, we are naked, we are buffeted, we have no 
certain dwelling-place, we labour, we are reviled, j 
we are persecuted, we entreat, we are made the j 
filth of the world and the offscouring of all things/* 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 



305 



To which he adds, in the sixth chapter of the next 
epistle, as the peculiar lot of ministers, 44 afflictions 3 
necessities, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labours, 
watchings, and fastings." 

The apostle, my brethren, evidently considers the 
Christian's afflictions in the one case, principally in 
relation to this life ; and in the other, in relation to 
that which is to come. In another place, he seems 
to connect these different views ; and then he speaks 
as follows, "We are unknown; as dying, and behold 
we live ; as chastened, and not killed ; as sorrowful, 
yet always rejoicing ; as poor, yet making many 
rich ; as having nothing, and yet possessing all 
things." 

In this chapter he has laboured to suppress a spirit 
of faction and unholy partiality, which had crept into 
the church at Corinth. They had departed from thai 
rule which St. Paul had given to the Thessalonians, 
to regulate their affections towards their ministers, 
** And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which 
labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and 
admonish you ; and to esteem them very highly in 
love, for their works' sake." Instead of this, they 
were extravagant in their praises of some, while 
they spoke in terms of indifference of others : — and 
leaving the standard of ministerial usefulness, they 
permitted their affections to be influenced by local 
circumstances and strange partialities resulting from 
knowing men after the flesh. They were 44 puffed up 
for one against another." This, the apostle seems 
to have thought a mark of carnality, and quite a 

39 



30b 



kARRls's SERMONS 



contracted view of things ; inasmuch as the Gospel, 
being of divine origin, did not depend for success 
on the superior talents and reacfy elocution of those 
who preached it : but on a simple and plain statement 
of the unadorned doctrines and instructions which 
the preacher receives, with his commission, from 
the great Head of the church. " Who then is Paul, 
and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye be- 
lieved." The names of Paul and Apollos are here 
used, to signify any who stood as heads of parties in 
the church at Corinth. The contention did not 
actually exist concerning himself and Apollos, but 
others. But when he would signify how small 
ministers are in themselves, through modesty he 
sees fit to make use of his own name, and that of his 
intimate friend Apollos ; wisely avoiding the risk of 
giving offence, by using the names of others. This 
he expressly declares in the 6th verse of the next 
chapter, " and these things, brethren, I have in a 
figure transferred to myself and Apollos." 

In the text, the apostle labours to merge all party 
feeling in one grand, love-engendering proposition, 
all are yours. How simple would it be, for a sole 
heir to dispute about the worth of one small article 
in the inventory of his fathers estate, when all be- 
longed to him. 

The sentiment which the apostle introduces in 
the text to promote peace in the Corinthian church, 
I shall this day attempt to improve, in order to pro- 
mote a general attachment to the cause of religion. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



307 



which alone guarantees to us the valuable treasures 
spoken of in the text. 

I. The apostle saith, all things are yours. In 
this comprehensive sentence he embraces every 
blessing connected with the grand scheme of man's 
redemption. It was to procure the happiness of the 
Christian, that the Lord Jesus Christ was pleased to 
lay aside the robes of glory, descend to earth, and 
die. 

;c 5 Tis for our sake, all nature stands. 
And stars their courses move ; 
3 Tis for our guards, the angel bands 
Come flying from above." 

The apostle next proceeds to a copious enumera- 
tion of particulars : whether* Paul, or Jlpollos, or Ce- 
phas. Here we may observe, that all ministers, and 
ministerial abilities, are given by the Almighty for 
the edification of his church. The treasures of 
God's word he gives to us in earthen vessels, that 
the excellency of the power may be of God. In 
estimating the value of a true minister, we do not 
refer only to his dexterous handling of the sword of 
the Spirit, which, it must be acknowledged, is a 
great part of the ministerial work ; but we take into 
the account the private admonitions and the godly 
example, without which, though he should preach 
like an angel, his doctrine would fall unavailing to 
the ground. True piety and exemplary conduct 
are absolutely necessary for a Gospel minister, not 
only to secure his own salvation, but also the salv^ 



30# HARRIS'S SERMON© 

tion of those who hear him. By this alone he easa. 
guard himself from the reproach of those who wait 
for his halting, and excite a laudable ambition in 
his flock to follow him as he walks in the footsteps 
of the adorable Redeemer, and to live in all things 
worthy of their high vocation and their dignified 
hopes. Oh ! what an unspeakable blessing to God's 
church, are its candlesticks, its star&, its angels^ 
whose office is to teach, prune, and stimulate bj 
example. 

Permit me to conclude my observations on the 
subject of our spiritual inheritance, by an appeal to 
your own experience. How often has the scribe, in- 
structed in the word, dealt out to you a portion 
to suit you in temptation, to suit you in coldness, to 
suit you in wealth and prosperity, and to suit you 
in adversity ; not to mention the effort of the Spirit* 
of which he was the instrument, that first thundered 
conviction to your heart, when you were in the road 
to hell. 

The pulpit therefore, (and I name it, fill'd, 

With solemn awe, that bids me well beware 

With what intent I touch that holy thing) 

Must stand acknowledg'd, while the world shall stand 

The most important and effectual guard, 

Support, and ornament of virtue's cause. 

There stands the messenger of truth. There stands 

The legate of the skies. His theme divine, 

His office sacred, his credentials clear. 

By him the violated law speaks out 

Its thunders, and by him, in strains as sweet 

As angels use, the Gospel whispers peace- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



30$ 



II. The apostle next mentions the world as belong- 
ing to the Christian. This will doubtless seem 
strange to those who have seen the despised and 
destitute little flock, frequently, like their Lord and 
Master, having scarcely a place where to lay their 
heads. But the apostle, no doubt, values the world 
in exact proportion to its advantages, as a further- 
ance towards heaven. He, as all Christians should 
do, makes eternity a leading feature in the aspect of 
his existence. Christ is made head over all things 
to his church. And as opulent parents do not 
always see fit to educate their children at home? 
in the arms of their too fond indulgence, but send 
them abroad, and subject them to painful discipline- 
with scarcely a knowledge of their high extraction ; 
so does Christ, the great Head of the church, some- 
times expose his children to hardy conflicts with 
various calamities, with only this assurance, "he 
that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will 
be his God, and he shall be my son." " A little that 
a righteous man hath, is better than the abundance 
of the wicked. For God saith of the wicked, I 
will curse their blessings, yea, I have cursed them 
already." But of the righteous it is said, "What- 
soever he doeth, shall prosper." Christ, who is *the 
Christian's Father, will deal out the things of this 
life in exact adaptation to the best interests of his 
children. If he sees that riches would ruin the soul, 
he can easily withhold or take them away : — or, if 
he sees they would promote his own glory and our 
good-, he can as easily give them. And where is 



f3lO ' HARRISES SERMONS 

the man that would want riches on any other terms | 
— May my God never let me grow rich at the ex- 
pense of my salvation ! 

But there is another sense in which the Christian 
may be said to enjoy or possess the world. You 
have often seen a miser, who, though he was worth 
his thousands, would nevertheless abridge himself 
of the very necessaries of life. — Now, he has only 
the name of a rich man, whilst another, with much 
less property than he possesses, enjoys much more 
real satisfaction. So the Christian, though he pos- 
sesses little, has a contented soul, a conscience at 
peace with God, and a thankful heart, which give 
the fullest zest to his common meal. He actually 
possesses every real enjoyment which riches can 
yield. — In this sense, therefore, he may be said to 
possess the world — peace and contentment, which 
is all the world to him. If the Christian has much, 
it is sanctified to his good, while he keeps the prin- 
ciple of grace in lively exercise: — if he has little, 
he enjoys it ; and when he has nothing, his very 
wants work for his good. Paw/, and Apollos, and 
Cephas, and the world, are yours, Christian ! 

III. Life also is yours. The apostle does not 
mean, that we can live as long as we please, and 
that we are at liberty to put an end to life, if we 
should see fit ; but, that the real enjoyment of life is 
ours, and the end of life is also ours. Vain and 
transitory as is human life, yet, in it, by grace di- 
vine, the root of sin is eradicated from the soul, and 



OX IMPORTANT SUBJECTS a 



311 



we are prepared to join that glorious society above, 
when we come to die, provided we have been dili- 
gent in redeeming the time. 

Could I but lead you beside the rivers of eternal 
consolation, in the Paradise of God, and show you 
those pure and happy spirits who reign with him in 
glory ; who in the short term of a few years' proba- 
tion treasured up for themselves eternal riches; 
surely, you would say, " These have lived to pur- 
pose." We are placed in this world but for a mo- 
ment. We have much to do for the glory of God, 
and for our own good. — Let us therefore, Oh ! bre- 
thren, be up and doing, and work while it is called, 
To-day. — Let us not barter one moment but in ex- 
change for its real Worth. 

How much of your precious time, Oh ! man, has 
already run to waste! — What account could you 
now render of it, if called to the bar of God ?— Ah ! 
you have left God out of your scheme of happiness, 
and you have lived but to serve yourself and sin ; 
but life, with its real enjoyment and true end, be- 
longs to the Christian. 

IV. Death also, is enumerated in the Christian's 
inheritance. To the carnal man, who knows no- 
thing, and seeks nothing, but the enjoyments of this 
life, this may appear strange. But, my brethren, 
the real Christian knows that " to depart hence and 
be with Christ is far better." He has, all the while, 
been living in this world only in submission to the 
will of God ; and, if faith is in lively exercise, he 



312 



HARRIS *S SERMO&S 



rejoices when he obtains leave to quit his post of 
duty, and lay aside the cross for the crown. To 
die,— What is it, Oh ! my soul ? — It is to cease from 
all sorrows, and enter into eternal joy. — It is to be 
absent from the body, it is true ; but it is to be eter- 
nally present with the Lord. — It is to be crowned 
with masteries. — It is to escape, like a bird from the 
fowler, into eternal peace. — It is to join the great 
assembly of the holy, just, and good ; — to be set free 
from every evil, and enj oy every good. 

" No sorrow be vented that day, 

When Jesus has called me home ; 
But with singing and shouting, let each brother say-* 
He has gone from the evils to come !" 

It is thus, my brethren, that death forms a part of 

the Christian's inheritance. 

V. In his enraptured style, the apostle next ob™ 
serves, things present are ours. He seems here to 
give an almost indefinite enumeration — things present^ 
whatever they may be. Is it thy lot, at present, to 
submit to a series of grievous afflictions? — Know 
this, " that all things work together for good to them 
vhat love God.'' But by things present, the apostle 
might intend the common incidents of life, whether 
prosperous or afflictive in their appearance ; and 

VI. By things to come, he might mean the things 
which relate to the future dispensations of God's 
providence in this life; as well as that ineffable 
glory which he will finally confer on all his faithfu! 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



313 



Saints : — so that, eternity being to come, eternity is 
also ours. And how shall we spend it ? Certainly, 
in praise to our God, and in the most unspeakable 
enjoyments. Whatever the Lord hath done, which 
hath been revealed to mortals, has been closely 
connected with the scheme of man's redemption. 
And, Oh! what fulness of delight shall we enjoy, in 
the ultimate triumph of that stupendous scheme, to 
accomplish which the Lord Jesus Christ hath died ! 
Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, 
or death, or things present, or things to come : all are 
yours. 

But as that which is counted gain to the righteous, 
is loss to the unrighteous ; we may well say of the 
ungodly, 64 Nothing is theirs. — All the blessings of 
the mediatorial scheme, are perverted, and turned 
to a curse. The ministers of Christ — the channels 
which convey the healing unction of celestial grace 
to the upright, are to them messengers of wrath ; 
inasmuch as they bring with them that light, the re- 
jection of which adds to sin a character of the high- 
est aggravation. — The world, for which they are so 
eager, is given to them in wrath, as God gave a king 
— ^to wicked Israel of old ; and as those who lusted for 
flesh in the wilderness, received it in wrath, so that 
the anger of the Lord came upon them while it was 
yet in their teeth ; so does the curse of God attend 
those who abuse their riches to purposes of pride 
and neglect of God. Life is to them a. curse : and 
it would have been good for that man, who lives and 
fiies without religion, if he had never been born 

40 



314 HARRIS S SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 

Present things, whether prosperous or afflictive, are 
perverted in their design; and things to come, 
the blessings or chastisements of future life, shall, 
being abused, render them greater objects of divine 
displeasure ; and eternity shall entail upon them 
eternal wretchedness. 

JYeivbem, November 16, 1817, 



r 

i 



SERMON XXX. 



#4nd I was with you in iveakness, and in fear, and in much 
trembling. 1 Cor. ii. 3. 

If, in a course of desultory reading, a man should 
by accident light on such a passage as this, he 
would, at first view, suppose that he beheld the fea- 
tures of perturbation resulting from the appalling 
fears of a guilty ruffian, in the very act of attempt- 
ing to guide the dagger to the bosom of innocence: 
©r he would at least suppose, that he beheld the 
plainest marks of casuistical indecision. If, how- 
ever, on reading the context, he should discover that 
St. Paul was giving, in the text, a short sketch of the 
exercise of his own mind, he would probably think 
that the apostle referred to the feelings of compunc- 
tion, which, as one would think, he must have felt, 
when 44 he made havoc of the church, entering into 
every house, and haling men and women, committed 
them to prison."— Or he might possibly think, that 



316 



Harris's sermons 



the apostle was giving a view of the peculiar cir- 
cumstances that attended his conversion, when Jesus 
Christ, from the throne of his glory, sent forth his 
voice, which relaxed the sinews of this malevolent 
persecutor, and forced him to acknowledge the su- 
premacy of his power. 

Indeed, my brethren, if we were to read a letter, 
written by St. Paul, and directed to Judas from Da- 
mascus, where he spent the three days that he was 
under conviction ; we should not be surprised, if, in 
the language of the text, he should observe, / was 
with you in iveakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.. 

But, my brethren, these words are a true copy of 
St. Paul's exercises, while he was preaching at Co- 
rinth Christ crucified, the power and wisdom of 
God. But, wherefore this weakness in the midst of 
power? — Wherefore this fear, in the midst of the 
glorious hopes of the Gospel ? — Why this trembling, 
whilst the strong hand of faith was fastened on the 
throne of God ? I should rather expect to hear him 
thank Christ Jesus the Lord, for enabling him, and 
counting him faithful, and putting him into the minis- 
try. What then ! did he doubt his call to the minis- 
try ? Hear him on this point — " I certify you, brethren, 
that the Gospel which was preached by me, is not 
after man ; for I neither received it of man, neither 
was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus 
Christ." — Did he feel within himself a degree of 
shame in preaching a crucified Christ, as the only 
hope of salvation? Hear him on this point also — 
R I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it its 



ON IMPORTANT St/BJECTS, 



317 



the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
believeth." Was he made to fear and tremble, 
from a supposed inferiority and weakness in the 
doctrines of the Gospel, when compared with the 
wisdom and popular philosophy of the day ? So far 
from it, he challenges a comparison — 44 Where is the 
wise ? where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of 
this world ? hath not God made foolish the wisdom 
of this world ? For after that in the wisdom of God, 
the world by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God 
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that 
believe."— Was his fear and trembling the effect of 
cowardice, the dread of suffering ? No, my brethren ; 
this Christian hero would have disdained a thing so 
low and sordid. As a proof of this, on one occasion 
having mentioned a long catalogue of his sufferings, 
he concludes by observing, 44 None of these things 
move me ; neither count I my life dear unto me, so 
that I may finish my course with joy." Nor was his 
fortitude unequal to the pains of martyrdom, which 
he afterward suffered. Did his trembling originate 
in a fear, that his plain manner of preaching would 
deprive him of that pecuniary reward which is gene- 
rally the aim of natural talents, employed in the 
ministry, unsanctified by grace? This could not 
have been the concern of one who had learned to 
suffer want, who had learned to be content in any 
station; of one who said, that it were better for 
him to die, than that any man should make his glo- 
rying void, as it related to preaching the Gospel 
free of cost. 



318 



HARRIS'S SERMON b 



How is it then, that St. Paul should inform the 
Corinthians, that he was with them in meekness, and 
in fear, and in much trembling? — Ah! my brethren, 
he was looking forward to that great and terrible 
day, when the Great Shepherd of the sheep will 
try the fidelity of his subordinate pastors. Nor 
would it have appeared strange to the reflecting 
mind, if, impressed with a sense of the dread respon- 
sibility which attached to his character and office 
■ — if, anticipating the transactions of that day, he 
should have adopted the awful language in which 
Eliphaz rehearsed his vision, " In thoughts from the 
visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, 
fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all 
my bones to shake. Then a Spirit passed before 
my face, the hair of my flesh stood up." 

This strong, this nervous language does by no 
means exaggerate the feelings of the Gospel preach- 
er, whose mind is duly impressed with the impor- 
tance of the Christian ministry, and the difficulties 
attending its faithful execution. On these two 
points, by divine assistance, we will attempt to 
make some observations. 

I. And first, we may observe that the Gospel 
ministry embraces objects of the most important 
nature. It purports to carry on to its perfection 
* that stupendous scheme of grace, which, from the 
earliest times, has been the object of God's provi- 
dential care ; and for the accomplishment of which, 
Jesus Christ was pleased to lay aside the robes of 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS'. 



319 



lis glory, suffer the insults of sinners, and finally 
>our out his soul as an offering for sin. The prin- 
ipal concern of our ministry, is not with the fading 
isions of time, but the unchangeable realities of 
ternity. We leave to little men, who are called 
reat, the petty trifles which glitter in the mummery 
f this poor world ; whilst we hover over the immor- 
il soul, which, proceeding from God, and happy 
only in union with him, is in danger, through its pol- 
lution, of everlasting separation from him who is the 
source of light and life. 

What are the feelings of a fond mother, who be- 
holds her infant that can scarcely stand alone, sport- 
ing on the brink of a precipice, into which, if it falls, 
it must inevitably perish, when at the same time it 
cannot understand, or will not obey her solicitation, 
and flee from the danger ? Oh ! I read the agony of 
her mind in her very countenance : — she is weak- 
ened by her alarm, she shrieks, she fears, she trem- 
bles for the consequence. 

The comparison, my brethren, is strong but strik- 
ing. St. Paul felt, and every real Gospel minister 
feels, the most trembling fears, when they behold 
sinners jeopardizing their salvation, standing, as it 
were, on a slippery rock, while fiery billows roll 
below. 

Here is a large assembly ; — many are unconver- 
ted, and of course, exposed to the wrath of God. 
What if the " silver cord" should be loosed ? — what 
if the " golden bowl" should be broken ? What 
would you lose? Yoii would lose heaven* and all 



320 



Harris's sermons 



the society of the blessed, and you would be pre- 
cluded from all possibility of receiving me r 
What would you feel? You would immedia 
gin your hell. You would immediately begin 
fruitless and dolorous groans, which echo th 
all the regions of eternal despair. 

What assurance have you, that this shall not be 
your portion in twenty-four hours ? My brethren, 
permit me to adopt the language of the text, I la- 
bour among you at this time, in iveahiess, and in fear* 
and in much trembling. 

My brethren, it is not a matter of trivial moment, 
to stand at the altar and administer in holy things. 
It is not a light thing, to labour as a principal agent, 
to save those for whom Christ died. 

II. But if St. Paul trembled in contemplating the 
importance of the ministry, much more ought he, 
and all real ministers, feel their weakness, and fear 
their want of success, when they consider the obsta- 
cles lying in the way of its accomplishment. Of 
these, the first, and perhaps the greatest, is the la- 
tent but rooted prejudice, which subsists in the un- 
renewed mind against our message. The truths 
we teach, are not of the nature of ordinary matters 
of speculation and inquiry, which want only their 
proper evidence, to be acknowledged and believed. 
We speak, where the person who is to decide, is 
himself a party to the question ; and where the 
strongest feelings of a proud and corrupt heart, are 
brought into action against us and our unwelcome ; 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



321 



tale. Seldom are men induced, but under the in- 
fluence of a superior power, to acquiesce in the 
humbling and distasteful doctrines, which search 
the sinner's heart, and bring him to the feet of the 
Redeemer to sue for mercy. Whilst we uncover 
the sinner's heart, and show him that sepulchre of 
dead men's bones — that cage of unclean birds — 
whilst we insist on his entire impurity and helpless- 
ness — whilst we exhort him to repent, and seek 
for justification, not in his own name, but wholly 
through the merits of a crucified Redeemer ; have 
we not cause to fear that our fellow-creatures, like 
the deaf adder, will close their ears against the 
prophet of better tidings, charm he never so 
wisely. 

If, however, we are so happy as to gain the out- 
ward ear, we have other difficulties to encounter, 
We have to draw off the attention from objects 
which are present and agreeable, to those which 
are distant and uninviting : to lead those whose 
minds are absorbed in things temporal, to the con- 
templation of things spiritual and divine. We have 
to contend with the power of the world, which, 
with the most specious bait, angles for regards in 
favour of its short-lived pleasures. ~ it is our aim to * 
break the chains of a strange and deceitful master, 
whose spells are wound about the heart — to bring 
the wanderers home to their righteous Lord and 
rightful owner. We have to call on men to sacri- 
fice their ardent but misplaced affections, and direct 
them to objects as yet . untasted : and however am» 

41 



322 Harris's' sermons on important subjects*. 

pie they may be, the unrenewed man is wholly un- 
prepared to relish them. 

We tremble for ourselves, and keep our body in 
subjection; lest, after we have preached to others,, 
we ourselves should become cast-away. We have 
cause to fear, lest, through a false candour, we 
should betray the cause of truth into the hands of 
error. We conclude, by requesting the prayers 
of the people of God. 



Mwhem, April 19, 1817, 



SERMON XXXI, 



Worship God. Rev. xix. 10, 

Had the darkness of the Jewish dispensation 
extended its influence to the present day, then 
would your speaker, both from the subject and the 
occasion, be led to speak much of those outward 
forms and sensible figures, by which the Almighty 
was pleased to assist the minds of his worshippers ; 
when the pomp which blazoned at Jerusalem's capi- 
tal, and the ceremonies there performed, were re- 
garded as the principal points of divine worship. 

But the hour being now come, when the true wor- 
shippers have no longer to resort to the mountain of 
Samaria, nor yet to the temple of Jerusalem; but 
are required to worship the Father in spirit and in 
truth; the minister of the Gospel, caught away by 
the adorable perfections of his Lord and Master, as 
revealed by the clearer light of the Gospel, stoops ^ 
no longer to meaner subjects, but vouches the di * 



324 



Harris's sermons 



vine supremacy, and challenges such dispositions 
as are suitable to those who would worship the 
great Jehovah. 

If any thing could justify, in the minister of salva- 
tion, a momentary departure from that theme, which 
should ever warm his heart, and dwell upon his 
tongue, methinks it would be the peculiarities of 
the present occasion, convened, as we are, for the 
first time, to worship God within these hallowed 
walls, which we now consecrate specially to his 
service. For sure I am, an occasion has never pre- 
sented itself in which voluntary contribution ever 
displayed more fully the unostentatious generosity 
of a people ; or in which greater zeal and concert 
conspired to effect a religious object. 

But, my brethren, it would ill accord, both with 
the dignity and design of this place, to confer com- 
mendation on mortals for a work which, however 
laudable, surpasses not our duty. To your con- 
sciences I refer you for that satisfaction which re- 
sults from disinterested good-will to the cause of 
Jesus Christ : and to the time of general remune- 
ration I refer you for your reward from Him who has 
said — a cup of cold water, given to a disciple, in the 
name of a disciple, shall secure to the giver a re- 
ward. 

This house was erected for the convenience of 
those who worship God ; and for this purpose ex- 
clusively, I trust, we shall here often meet. It is 
my present design, to bring into view three of the 
principal points to which we should attend at all 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 32& 

times; and especially when we meet for the pur- 
pose of divine worship : 

I. The object; 

II. The nature ; 

III. The benefit of divine worship. 

I. The first of all truths, and the foundation of all 
religion is, that there is a God. Whether a belief 
of the existence of a God is founded on innate 
ideas ; or the grandeur of the works of nature, to- 
gether with the harmony of the system of all visible 
things ; or on the structure and powers of our own 
minds, of which we feel a consciousness, we shall 
not now attempt to determine. This however we 
believe, that there never was a nation but what 
acknowledged and worshipped a Divinity. If at 
any time the tongue dares to utter the impious and 
foolish expression, " There is no God ;" it either 
absolutely contradicts the thoughts of the heart, or 
is led away by the irregular desires of the soul, ex- 
hibiting rather what it wishes, than what it believes. 
Indeed, the more common error of men has been 
to multiply to themselves gods, and to refer them 
all to the different parts of material nature : as for 
instance, to the heavens, air, earth, sun, moon, and 
stars. 

But let it be remarked, touching the light of na- 
ture, that although it pointed out a supreme and 



HARRIS S SEKMOftS 



over-ruling power in the universe ; it was quite ton. 
feeble to chase away that grim darkness that hover- 
ed over the altars of religion, even when the arts 
and sciences were at their acme, and human know- 
ledge flourished like the palm-tree. They then had 
gods many and lords many ; but they were unknown 
gods; nor could they conceive of them otherwise 
than through a carnal medium. They worshipped 
the air which enabled them to live ; the earth which 
nourished them ; the sun which gave them light ; and 
the moon which ruled over the night. " They wor- 
shipped those conquerors who had delivered them 
from their enemies; those benevolent and upright 
princes who had rendered their subjects happy: 
and Hercules and Jupiter w ere placed in the rank 
of gods ; the one for the number of his victories, 
and the other in consequence of the happiness and 
tranquillity of his reign." 

So consonant is the idea of a God to the natural 
sentiments of mankind, that all the nations of the 
earth have, with one consent, agreed to institute 
some forms of worship. Survey the societies of men 
in their rudest state; explore the deserts of Africa, 
the wilds of our America, the distant isles of the 
sea, and you will find that some religious ceremo- 
nies have obtained — You will every where* in 
some form or other, trace the temple, the altar, the 
priest, and the offering; though frequently mixed 
with superstitions I should blush to name. 

The variety of systems which men have formed 
*e themselves on this subject, has excited the ridi- 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



327 



cule of sceptics and libertines. Mr. Hume com- 
pares them to the playsome whimsies of monkeys ; 
and infers from them that the whole of religion is a 
riddle, and that mystery and perplexity seem to be 
the result of the most accurate investigation. 

For myself, I confess I should draw different con- 
clusions from such premises ; I should rather think 
that the follies and caprice which the melancholy 
history of religious superstition presents to view, 
direct our attention to those sacred and indelible 
characters on the mind of man, inscribed, no doubt, 
by the finger of Deity. Nay, the more ludicrous 
and debasing the ceremonies to which the pride oi 
human reason has been reconciled, the stronger i$ 
our evidence, that religion has a foundation in the 
nature of man ; a foundation, from which it is not to- 
be beaten by all the frightful spectres of human ig- 
norance and superstition. And here we are led to 
gratitude and astonishment, when we view the open- 
ings of the Divine counsels. After the cheerless 
darkness of Paganism, and the twilight of that dis- 
pensation, in which God was dimly seen, but which 
was a shadow of better things which were yet to 
come ; it was reserved for the Son, who was yet 
in the bosom of his Father, to make a full declara- 
tion of the nature, perfections, and counsels of the 
eternal mind. The prophets, indeed, with ideas 
filled with the immensity, the omnipotence^ and the 
majesty of the Supreme Being, exhausted the weak- 
ness of human language, in order, if possible,* to 
correspond with the sublimity of the God of heaven: 



328 



HARRIS'S SERMONS 



they describe him, % as He that measures the waters 
of the ocean in the hollow of his hand ; who weighs 
the mountains in his balance ; in whose hands are 
the tempest and thunders ; who speaks, and all is 
done ; who commands, and it stands fast. But Jesus 
Christ, with a knowledge which renders the idea 
of the Supreme Being familiar to him, speaks simply 
and familiarly of the glory of the Lord. He calls 
him a holy Father ; a righteous Father ; a merciful 
Father; a Shepherd who pursues a strayed sheep, 
and kindly bears it home himself; a Friend who 
yields to the importunity of his friend ; a Father 
who is feelingly affected with the return and re- 
formation of his son ; moreover, as a God who 
taketh no pleasure in sin, and will not suffer the 
wicked to go unpunished. 

The Christian dispensation teaches us to study 
and know not merely the character of G od in Christ, 
but as the perfections of the divine nature were pe- 
culiarly manifested in our blessed Saviour, so in him 
we should particularly observe and consider them. 
It is principally in the luminous pages of divine 
truth, that the nature and perfections of God are 
unveiled, so as to impress reverence, affection, and 
love. There we learn, that the infinite but undi- 
vided essence of the eternal God, subsists in three 
distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost. Concerning the Son, we find names and 
titles, proper only for God, applied to him; and he 
is mentioned as the object of religious worship, with- 
out any limitation : and it is stated to be the will of 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 



329 



God " that all men should honour the Son, even as 
they honour the Father." (1 John v. 23.) To the 
Holy Ghost are ascribed the divine perfections of 
omniscience, omnipresence, and almighty power, as 
also the divine works of creation. (Genesis i. 2.) 
The unity of the Trinity we acknowledge to be a 
mystery ; and from its mysterious nature, some have 
taken occasion to reject it altogether. But is not 
all nature full of mystery ? Can you explain how the 
grass grows, or the sun shines ? Can you unfold to 
us the nature of that union which subsists between 
the soul and body ? Can you discover how the small 
superficies of the optic nerve displays to the mind 
the whole hemisphere at once ? If then we are 
formed to acknowledge mysteries in nature, why 
should we not submit to them also in religion; 
since through our ignorance we cannot know him, 
or how he exists, or form any adequate ideas of in- 
finity or eternity ? It is enough for us to know that 
he is, and that he is the rewarder of them that dili- 
gently seek him. When he reveals this to us, he 
surely requires nothing unreasonable, when he com- 
mands us to worship him. 

It appears then, that the one supreme and per- 
fect Being, upon whom the existence of all other 
beings and their powers originally depend, is our 
rightful Sovereign, and the proper Object of our reli- 
gious worship. 

II. We come, secondly, to speak something of the 
nature of Christian worship. Religious worship may 

42 



330 



Harris's sermons 



Ibe said to have a body and a soul, viz. external ser- 
vices, and inward adoration of God, because of his 
infinite excellency, mercy, power, goodness, and 
love. And all external services, which do not tend 
to the purifying of the heart and the reforming of 
the life, are unacceptable to God, and unprofitable 
to men. Hence they are so often treated in Scrip- 
ture with the highest contempt, when substituted in 
the room of the important duties of a virtuous life. 
Notwithstanding this, it is certain that external ser- 
vices have their place, and a very considerable one, 
too, in the system of religion. In all times, men 
have consecrated places to God, which he has 
honoured with his special presence. The patri- 
archs erected altars to him on certain spots where 
he had appeared. The Israelites, in the wilderness, 
considered the tabernacle as the place where his 
glory and his presence continually resided. And 
afterward, the august temple erected by Solomon, 
was dedicated to him. It was the most holy place 
in the universe ; the only one where it was permit- 
ted to offer up gifts and sacrifices to the Lord ; and 
from all parts of the earth, the Israelites were 
obliged to come there to worship God. In the in- 
fancy of the Gospel, the houses of believers were 
domestic churches. The cruelty of tyrants obliged 
the first Christians to seek obscure places, to con- 
ceal them from the rage of persecution ; until in 
after times, under the auspices of God-fearing 
rulers, places of worship were again consecrated 
to God. 



ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS* 



331 



But for want of making a just distinction between 
the means and the end, in religion, men have erred 
on both sides. The time was, when all religion 
consisted in attending the duties of the church; this 
alone sanctified the character, and atoned for every 
blemish in moral conduct. From this extreme, 
some run into the opposite one of holding every 
thing light that belongs to public worship. Such 
would do well to recollect, that though the form 
of godliness does often remain, when the power of 
it is wanting; yet the power cannot well subsist, 
where the form is altogether gone. 

Let it be remembered, that God's family are 
but one, whether they dwell above or below. Our 
temples are a new heaven, where God dwelleth 
with men. "The heavenly altar hath no longer 
any advantage over ours — The Lamb of God, which 
they adore, is the victim immolated for our sins — 
The bread which we participate, is the immortal 
food of angels and blessed spirits — The mystical 
wine we there drink, is that new beverage with 
which they make glad in the kingdom of our hea- 
venly Father — And our sacred songs are those 
which the celestial harmony makes resound around 
the throne of the Lamb." 

Our dispositions should therefore have some ac- 
cordance with the dispositions of those in the upper 
temple. " Now the first disposition of those blessed 
spirits who surround the throne of God and the 
altar of the Lamb, is a disposition of purity and 
innocence. Secondly, a disposition of religion and 



332 HARRISES SERMONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 

internal humiliation." These two dispositions com- 
prise the principal feelings of faith, with which we 
should worship God, when we enter this house. 
1. A disposition of purity and innocence. * 

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1^ : , ■ *> - *' i% - :: ^7 iTVr J-*i 3 ' 



This Sermon the Author was preparing as a dedication for the 
new Methodist Meeting-House, in Petersburg, but died before 
either were finished. 



FINIS 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Sketch of the Author's Life, ■■- . r - — ~- - ----- — — ? 



SERMON I. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor ; he 
hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight 
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised^ 
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, Luke 
iv. 18, lC...-.., 25 

SERMON II. 

They are not in trouble as other men ; neither are they 
plagued like oth er men. Psalm Ixxiii. 5.„ . . ,„v— * - 32 



SERMON III. 

ind I gave her space to repent of her fornication ; 
and she repented not Behold, I will cast her into 



334 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into 
great tribulation, except they repent. Rev. ii. 21, 
22.., „iv. ..„„_ 40 



SERMON IV. 

Neither be partaker of other men's sins. 1 Tim. v. 22. 52 



SERMON V. 

From that time many of his disciples went back, and 
walked no more with him. John vi. 66 68 



SERMON VL 

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accepta- 
tion, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 



sinners. 



1 Tim. i. 15 72 



SERMON VII. 

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, De- 
part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels. Matt. xxv. 41. 81 

SERMON VIII. 

for which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth 
not down first, and counteth the cost whether he have 



CONTENTS. 



335 



Page 

sufficient to finish it ? Lest haply, after he hath laid 
the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that 
behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man be-' 
gan to build, and was not able to finish, Luke 
xiv. 28, 29, 30 _ 92 



SERMON IX. 

For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, there- 
with to be content. I know both how to be abased, 
and I know how to abound : every where, and in 
all things, I am instructed, both to be full and to be 
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can 
do all things through Christ which strengthened 
me. Phil. iv. 11, 12, 13 102 



SERMON X. 

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: 
for it is God which worketh in you both to will and 
to do of his good pleasure. Phil. ii. 12, 13 110 



SERMON XL 

Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness 
to the plummet, and the hail shall sweep away the 
refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the 
hiding-place. Isai. xxviii. 17.. .« m 118 



CONTENTS, 



SERMON XIT. 

There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the 
weary be at rest. Job iii. 17.. ............. ...... 129 



SERMON XIII. 

The entrance of thy words giveth light ; it giveth un- 
derstanding to the simple. Psalm cxix. 130. .... 13ft 



SERMON XIV. 

So then every one of us shall give account of himself 
to God. Rom. xiv. 12 14? 



SERMON XV. 

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which 
are above, where Christ sitteth on the right-hand of 
God. Set your affections on things above, not on 
things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your 
life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who 
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear 
with him in glory. Colossians iii. 1. 2, 3, 4 154 

SERMON XVI. 

Jill that the Father giveth me, shall come to me, and 
him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. 
John vi. 37.. 164 



1 



CONTENTS. 



337 



Page 

SERMON XVII. 

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Ephes.iv.30. 171 



SERMON XVIII. 

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again 
to fear ; but ye have received the spirit of adoption^ 
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Rom. viii. 15 179 



SERMON XIX. 

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his $ 
eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suf- 
fered awhile, make you perfect; stablish, strengthen, 
settle you. 1 Pet. v. 10.. „ K * 191 



SERMON XX. 

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretch- 
ed out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye 
have set at nought all my counsel, and would none 
of my reproof : I also will laugh at your calamity ; 
I will mock when your fear cometh. Prov. i. 24, 
25, 26._* . ks^L. 203 



SERMON XXI. 

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy 
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in 
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our 

43 



338 



CONTENTS. 



daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we for- 
give our debtors. And lead us not into temptation ; 
but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, 
and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 
Matthew vi. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 _____ 214 



SERMON XXIT. 

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hid- 
den manna, and I will give him a white stone, and 
in the stone a new name written, which no man 
knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. Rev. ii. 17. 223 



SERMON XXIII. 

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God 
is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption. 1 Cor. i. 30 23d 



SERMON XXIV. 

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers 
temptations. James i. 2 24S 



SERMON XXV. 

lie that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, 
shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without reme- 
dy. Prov. xxix. 1 ._._..._> 255 



CONTENTS. 



339 



Page 

SERMON XXVI. 

Behold, thou desirest truth in the ? parts. 
Psalms li. 6 .269 

SERMON 

And he said unto them all, 1 come after 

me, let him deny himsel his cross daily, 

and follow me. ¥ A 282 



XXVIII. 

Wherein they think < e that ye run not with them 
to the same excess o, riot, speaking evil of you : ' 
Who shall give account to him that is ready to 
judge the quick and the dead. 1 Peter iv. 4, 5 294 

SERMON XXIX. 

For all things are yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, or 
Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things 



present, or things to come : all are yours. 1 Cor. 

iii. 21, 22.......... .„ 304 

SERMON XXX. 

And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in 
much trembling. 1 Cor. ii. 3 315 



SERMON XXXI. 
Worship God. Rev. xix. 10 323 



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